The power of Magic
by Dark Guard Productions
Summary: Now we've all read plenty of the stories, about a young hero who saves the day with the use of a powerful weapon. Now while this story may contain some bits from that story... this is a story all on its own. Especially since our hero really doesn't care about the rest of it. "What? they can take care of their own problems!" OC/OC harem, magic user, follows canon to a point.
1. Chapter 1

**Judan: Okay this is kind of another thing that I decided to do. Mostly because of something that the writer Shirou Fujiwara said in one of his stories.**

 **Slayer: Okay I'm confused… I didn't read that one but what did he say?**

 **Judan: He said that most DXD stories are pretty much just about some obscured guy from an OC devil clan always becoming as strong as a Maou straight off that bat. Or that there was some character that has an OC sacred gear with another heavenly level dragon in it, or maybe even a different longinus, or that they always become a devil if they're human. And even though I love my Void Emperor story, it does follow some of these tropes.**

 **Shadow: Okay I think I can see where this is going now, so this story is something that doesn't follow those then?**

 **Judan: Exactly our faithful evil mascot!**

 **Shadow: Uh huh… so what's the plan this time?**

 **Leon: The plan is for me to do what I do best while having an overbearing and overcomplicated over arc with side ones.**

 **Slayer: Wait what?**

 **Leon: Oh sorry is my terminology to advance for that pea sized intelligence of yours?**

 **Shadow: Judan what have you done?!**

 **Judan: So with that how about we let our newest member here end this comment section.**

 **Slayer: I thought it was the author section?**

 **Shadow: No it's the reviewer section.**

 **Judan: We really need to just stick to one name… anyways let's end this before we scare off anyone else.**

 **Leon: Alrighty then! Now we here at the Dark Guard productions own nothing but OC's and reality building concepts. Everything else belongs to their respective owners now without further ado…**

 **Everyone: Here's the story!**

 **Shadow: You know you never answered me.**

 **Judan: And I will continue to do so!~**

* * *

Hello= Regular talk

 **(Hello)= Sacred Gears**

' _Hello'_ _Telepathy_

 _Hello= Thoughts/talking to inner spirits_

(J/N)= Judan Notes

(S/N)= Slayer notes

* * *

Chapter What? Let's just go backwards then!

* * *

Currently there were two men talking in a room that looked like some kind of office. One was a handsome young man with light blue eyes, and green hair that was slicked back. He also seemed to have a mysterious aura around him. He was wearing some kind of large battle cape with dark green robes underneath.

The other man was also young, having the appearance of a man in his early 20's with shoulder length crimson red hair and blue-green eyes. He himself was wearing a large clock with pointed pauldrons and he didn't look happy.

Then with a sigh the green haired man spoke. "We're way in over our heads here Sirzechs. Trihexa is now on the loose and I doubt anyone can beat that monster at this point. Even Shiva was useless against it. Really the only way we could possibly win now, is to somehow convince the Great Red to fight the apocalyptic beast in the dimensional gap."

Upon hearing his friends words Sirzechs scratched his chin before speaking. "Actually… there might be someone who could help. Granted he's definitely not as strong as Trihexa, but he has a good head on his shoulders, and is quite intelligent. I think it's about time that I finally gave him a call Ajuka." Ajuka could only raise an eyebrow before questioning him.

"And just why haven't we asked for his help before things got out of control?" Sirzechs chuckled lamely while scratching the back of his head. "You forgot about him didn't you?"

Sirzechs shook his head before answering. "No actually… it's just that he's very difficult to work with. Not that he doesn't work well with people though, oh no his issue is that barely anything actually grabs his attention. Most of the time he's hanging out with his girls or researching some obscured magic. Or he's traveling somewhere to find more things to study. Really he's a hard worker who wants to just discover things; he also wants to get stronger just to see how strong he can get." Ajuka rubbed his chin before speaking again.

"So… he's someone who's hard to get a hold of… loves to spend his time researching magic… and barely any of our issues actually catch his attention. Did I get that all right?" Sirzechs nodded his head before Ajuka continued. "Well I don't see any harm in trying to contact him; after all with the world itself at stake what do we have to lose?" Although he mumbled it under his breath, Ajuka swore he heard Sirzechs say their dignity. But before he could say anything Sirzechs clapped his hands and spoke again.

"Alright! I'll go make the call now; hopefully he's not too busy or doing anything. Trust me he gets rather cranky about being interrupted." As his friend then left the room Ajuka sighed before saying something to himself.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

 _ **Over in America three minutes later…**_

* * *

Inside a nice home all was quiet. "Rinnng! Rinnng!" Well until the phone started ringing of course. That's when a young man lying in his bed with seven others grumbled angrily.

"It's four in the blasted morning… who could be calling us so darn early!" Sighing he looked at his companions before somehow teleporting out of bed. And though he was shirtless he very quickly put on a bathrobe before going to the phone. Once he picked it up he didn't even try to hide his displeasure. "This better be about someone dead or dying, and who is leaving me a bunch of cash and or magical artifacts and books."

Over on the other side the young man heard a sigh before a familiar voice spoke. "Sorry Cutler but this is just Sirzechs, but this is quite important."

"Cutler" Raised an eyebrow before questioning his acquaintance. "What did your sister decide that she's had enough of your sister complex? And then decided to hit you with a blast of destruction in your face?"

"Ah… no… It's something else thank Maou for that. But still this is quite bad, you see… THE WORLDS ABOUT TO END!" Cutler blinked for a couple of seconds before speaking again.

"Oh is that all? Wow you really worry about these things too much. Seriously do you know how many earth ending events, have almost happened in the last ten years alone? What's so different about this one?"

Sirzechs groaned before speaking again. "Yes I realize that… but this time an apocalyptic beast is going to destroy everything! And the Great Red will more than likely want to fight it, so there also that to worry about. Really do you know how disastrous it will be if two apocalyptic entities fight like that?!" For once Cutler sounded concerned as he spoke.

"Yeah I know, so what do you want me to do about it? I can't even fight Ophis let alone the Great Red."

Sirzechs spoke in agreement at that. "Yes that is true, but maybe you can come up with something. A seal maybe or some kind of weapon that can help us, or maybe you can even rediscover something? Anyways it doesn't matter we just need your help in any way that you can provide it." Cutler sighed before nodding his head in agreement.

"Well I can certainly try, but I will be compensated for this right?" He heard Sirzechs groan before receiving an answer.

"The world might end… and you want to be compensated?"

Cutler just smirked from his end. "Yep!~" He said popping the P before continuing. "Besides you're a devil surely you can understand wanting to get paid for your services. And besides I have a feeling that even without me you'd figure out something to do. So why work for no pay?"

Sirzechs made a noise before answering him. "Ugh… Fine you have a deal. So you want the usual compensation?"

Cutler answered with a grin. "That and little bit extra, such as a set of unused evil pieces, a highly enchanted demonic sword, five hundred grand, and twenty more magical tomes from your library than usual. After all this time, I'm helping you save the world so my reward should reflect that right?"

"Uhhh…." Cutler just waited patiently while Sirzechs got his bearings. Eventually the man cracked. "Fine! You have yourself a deal, and I can only assume that you want your payment before you start working?" That last part was meant as a joke but unfortunately Cutler took it seriously.

"You got it!~ After all I want to have a chance to read through them, just in case the world ends before I start working. Anyways I'll expect my stuff within a week goodbye!~" He just hung up the house phone before sighing "Sheesh… you think he'd be able to solve his own problems by now. I still remember him wanting me to create that fake invite thing."

The young man then yawned and moved back over to his room, where he smiled happily at the seven still sleeping soundly. Then taking off his robe he teleported back in. As he laid there he contemplated everything that had happened up till this point.

 _Well while my life hasn't been a walk in the park, I can say that I've at least found happiness._ He then closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

Two men were seen in a room while one was closing a book. They were both sitting in leather chairs that looked rather spendy. They were also both sitting directly in front of each other. To their left was a fire place with flames that kept changing color. Black, white, blue, red, yellow, and even green. The order of the colors was random, though it did shine an interesting light on the room which seemed to be a miniature library.

Still the two men shrouded their faces in darkness. The one without the book wore a black hooded robe the covered him entirely, while the one with the book wore the same thing only white. However you could see they were wearing leather combat boots, and leather gloves.

Eventually after some silence the one in black spoke. "That's it? That can't be all, especially since the book didn't really say anything about whom or what he was." At his questioning the other man chuckled before speaking.

"Of course that's not the end. But this is a book about someone's life. Told in sequential order, but if you want to know the beginning that will have to wait. After all those watching deserve a chance to guess at what might've been, and what might be." At his words the man in black, crossed his legs while putting a black gloved hand to his cheek.

When he spoke again he sounded bored. "I see… But you have to admit that this might just confuse our watchers as much as it confused me." The man in white only laughed while waving him off. And eventually when he had himself under control he spoke with amusement.

"Oh I assure you this was only meant to peak their curiosity. After all while this world has had many iterations of itself made. Only a select few ever truly manage to make a great story. But that's life; even the ones who created us have tried to make other versions even before this one. And though they are good, and they love them, they also understand that a writer must try to do better." The man then held the book up again before continuing. "This is another try of theirs. And I'm looking forward to it."

Putting his hand down the man in black sighed before speaking. "You have proven your point, but still what do you think our watchers make of us? After all we are quite different ourselves. But I suppose they will tell our own creators what they think in due time. Still why don't you read from the beginning now?"

The man in white shook his head. "No… we simply don't have the time at this moment. Besides a prologue always has to be made and as we are characters in our own story… we must abide by what our own stories have become. As such as we speak our own books are being filled out, strange as we read this book only to find ourselves being written to read it."

At his words the man in black sighed in disappointment before crossing his arms. "A shame then… I was hoping to have more time, and I was hoping to find out a little bit more about this Cutler." At his words the man in white chuckled sardonically. This only seemed to anger the other. "Did I say something funny?" At his question the one in white waved his hand in apology.

"Forgive me, but I only now realized that we've made a mistake. Although you and our watchers will have to see it for yourself. Although it technically isn't a mistake, only a confusing bit of info which will be explained later." At his words the man in black relaxed with a sigh.

Then when he spoke again he sounded bored again. "Well if you say so, still what do you make of this book? After all it seems as if you've already read it." The man in white shrugged before answering his companion.

"What I think doesn't matter, what matters is what you and the watchers think." The man then stretched before making the book disappear in blue light. After that he stood up while talking. "Well I think that's all for today than. So how about you join me for some dinner? We can always continue the book tomorrow after all. Because as you know as long as the story is interesting to one person, the book will never truly end." Shaking his head the man in black stood up while stretching out his own back.

"Fine but I hope that the next bit, the true beginning will be longer that we read now. I'm sure the watchers can agree with me on that point." As the man in white proceeded to leave the room he chuckled before replying.

"Oh that's not up to me to decide, although I do believe it will be. Now then how about some soup? I found an interesting recipe for Pho."

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

 **Magic Notes… Invalid no data to draw from** _ **.**_

* * *

 **Judan: And that's all!**

 **Shadow: What the heck was this?**

 **Slayer: I don't know but I kind of like it.**

 **Leon: Yeah… although next chapter will have more me in it right? After all my legendary power must be shown to the world!**

 **White: Only if you do become legendary.**

 **Black: What he said. Though your cryptic-ness will need some work.**

 **White: Ah I guess you're right, but it should do for now.**

 **Slayer: Just who are these guys anyway Judan?**

 **Judan: Oh no one important, at least not yet.**

 **Shadow: What do you mean by that?**

 **Judan: Hey you have Modaga, Maxos, and the Outsider! I just want two Omni Individuals as well!**

 **White: Calm down this is nothing to get worked up over.**

 **Black: Well maybe it is… At any rate we should probably end this at this moment.**

 **Shadow: Oh fine… so which one of you wants to end this?**

 **Black: I guess I will since White had more lines than I did. Now this had been a Dark Guard production now signing off!**

 **Everyone: Goodbye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Judan: Well since we did a short intro chapter, we shall now move onto the real story.**

 **Shadow: You mean the last thing wasn't part of the real story?**

 **Judan: No… I mean that we are now going to the start of the book.**

 **Slayer: You should know by now to just ignore the evil Darkwraith.**

 **Shadow: Usually I would say that I wasn't evil. But I've finally just gotten used to you calling me that.**

 **Leon: Wow… how many times have you've been called that then?**

 **Shadow: Too many times… now let's move onto reviews. My specialty!~**

 **Slayer: And also mine and Neos'… well his to an extent.**

 **Judan: Yeah he did muck up the last one…**

 **Shadow: Yeah… now then scrapbookofwasabi we must thank you for your support. And…**

 **Judan: That's all!**

 **Shadow: You know it's rude to interrupt people…**

 **Slayer: Since when did he care?**

 **Leon: You mean he's always like this? Wow seems like a beleaguered out affiliation between two cohorts of dissimilar module.**

 **Shadow: What?**

 **Slayer: He means that our partnership is stressed out thanks to all of our differences.**

 **Shadow: We are going to get nasty reviews on this… Anyways since you're the creator of this story and we don't have anyone really new… how about you end this Judan?**

 **Judan: Alright… Now then we here at the Dark Guard production own nothing but OC's and reality building concepts. Everything else belongs to their respective owners. Now without further ado…**

 **Everyone: Here's the story!**

 **Slayer: Hey wait where are White and Black?**

 **Judan: Around…**

* * *

Hello= Regular talk

 **(Hello)= Sacred Gears**

' _Hello'_ _Telepathy_

 _Hello= Thoughts/talking to inner spirits_

(J/N)= Judan Notes

(S/N)= Slayer notes

* * *

Chapter Two: Technically it could also be called chapter one

 _ **Next day…**_

* * *

"So are we finally going to get to the real story? Because while what you read yesterday was interesting, I'm sure that our watchers will agree that they want to read the real story now."

Taking in a deep breath the man in white spoke calmly. "Well I suppose you do have a point but where would you like to begin exactly? There are many points in which we can choose from. All of which can define our stories hero, so what do you want?"

The one in black folded his arms and huffed before speaking. "The very beginning of course, the point where he began to truly figure out who he was. And what he wanted to do, this way all will be explained. Besides we'll catch up to where we last read eventually, no matter how far back it may seem we are." At his decision the man in white laughed for a moment before speaking in amusement.

"If that's your choice, than we need to move back eleven years in the book from where I read last! Back to where he first discovered his grand interest. Are you still sure this is what you want? What the watchers will want?"

The one black huffed before answering disdainfully. "I said that's what I want, and I bet the watchers will enjoy it as well. Just leave the time skips to a minimal, after all… the most interesting things happen when ones growing up." The one in white nodded his head and despite the man in black's rudeness, opened the book up to the very beginning.

"In a way you are right, but it will be a longer tale this way. Still I suppose people don't make books like this for a quick read. Especially if they're to tell the tale of someone's life. Now then here we are at the beginning, I hope everyone's ready to see these events unfold now. Because once someone starts watching or reading something it doesn't end. Even if they hate it some part of the story sticks in their head filling them with ideas."

The man in black sighed before rubbing his unseen forehead. "I think we get it, now please just get to reading."

"Alright then… but remember I warned you."

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

 _ **Over in America**_

* * *

They say that magic originated with the origins of the gods. But is that true? If gods are created by the prayers and belief of the people… than wouldn't it be true that humans were the first ones to use magic? And from that magic wouldn't the other unique and strange species of the world, be created by either excess magic or experiments made by those magicians?

But if that is the case… then why do magicians of this time, say that magic was discovered after they broke down and studied demon magic? Or more accurately devil magic. Also on top of that, why are humans always so weak and short lived compared to the other races? (Though there are some exceptions, such as the alchemist Nicolas Flammel, and other notable immortals such as Siegfried.)

Yet… if humans are so weak why does everyone always need us to do something for them? Like the gods for example… they need human faith to keep on living, to keep on being gods. We know they need humans, because there have been many other gods which have faded due to human unbelief. Such as most Aztec and other Mesoamerican gods. No doubt other gods have also faded within the time of humans.

So… who is really the strongest race? And who really were the first ones to use magic. Unfortunately these things are only known to the true creator, but he is beyond our reach of communication. Maybe when we're all ash we could ask him and he'd answer. But for now we must try to discover these things on our own.

In that sense we humans have an advantage, because while we may not be as long lived. We also have great numbers on our side, plus we have something… three other things which no other race can truly copy. Ingenuity, the ability to work off each other, and fear of the unknown. Now while most would consider that last one a weakness, I and many of my colleagues would call it a blessing in disguise.

Because while fear can hamper us, it can also guide us. Especially if we have the courage to face the unknown, however while it is true that fear isn't a unique human trait. We're the only ones who truly use it to push ourselves past our own limitations. At least quite constantly in which case-

"LEON! Where are you sweetie?!" At his reading being interrupted a young boy of six sighed before calling back to his mother.

"I'm in the library Mom! I found another interesting book!" Upon hearing her son a young woman sighed before opening the door to said library. Now she had long light brown hair which reached the middle of her back, and her eyes were light hazel in color. Her clothing consisted of a slimming blue blouse with a long white skirt. On her feet were fluffy brown slippers, then as if to complete the housewife look she had on a white apron that covered her whole front and stopped at her knees.

However while she mostly smiled, at this moment there was a frown on her face as she searched through the library. It was quite large and had many shelves and even a second floor. There were also many different table and desks littered around the place. Still she eventually found what she was looking for. Her six year old son on the second floor looking down at her from the railing.

 _He truly does take after his father, although his intelligence is most definitely mine._ The boy in question was small as expected from his age, but he had dark black hair which partly covered his bright blue eyes. He was also wearing blue jeans, and a white t-shirt that had _Magician in training_ on the front in red bold letters. Still as he looked down at his mother there was a frown on his face as she spoke to him.

"You know it's not good for you to just stay inside like this. And before you start, I know that you want to learn more about magic, but you can wait till tomorrow when your father comes back from business. He did promise you that he'd start teaching you then, so for now how about you go out and actually play. Really I don't care what you do outside. Well… as long as you don't get into too much trouble." She finished her lecture with a smile, which left the boy pouting as he climbed down the stairs.

Eventually as he stood in front of his mother he spoke, albeit disappointingly. "Fine I'll go find something interesting to do outside. It's just the last time I did so a lot of people ran from me screaming." His mother looked at him blankly before retorting.

"That's because you tried juggling a beehive for an "experiment". Still how did that turn out for you in the end?" Leon always trying to find the bright side shrugged before speaking.

"Though I got stung I found out that I'm not allergic to bee stings. I also figured out that if you release your mana in a calming way they stop stinging you." His mother ended up slapping her forehead at that comment.

 _I should've seen that coming…_ she then dropped her hand and shook her head.

"Alright then… you can go now… just no more "experiments", especially since you've yet to tell us what you were actually doing with the beehive."

With a smile Leon hugged his mother before running out of the room. Rolling her eyes the young mother decided to find out just what her son was reading. Walking upstairs to the second level she went over to the table before frowning at the book.

"The power of Magic by Nicolai Harbinger… just how did he end up reading this book of all things?" Shaking her head she turned around and left the library. "Oh well that book is probably one of the better ones on human potential. At least he didn't find that one with the horse blood and the snake." She then shivered as she went about her daily duties.

Outside Leon was doing his best to find something to do… he was however unsuccessful. _Dang… there isn't anything to do out here! And no one will play with me because of the bee incident. But really I was just trying to domesticate Killer bees. After all their honey is supposedly the sweetest out there. Plus they're just so cute and fuzzy!_ Sighing he let his thoughts wander as he made his way around the neighborhood. It was a quiet place and not many things ever really happened there.

Well beside old man Gibbon who shot at anyone who walked on his lawn without permission. But since it was just a dart gun no one really cared too much. Although why the old man thought that it was an actual gun no one could understand. Nor did anyone care enough to try and understand, everyone just kind of accepted it as part of life. Well besides Leon who took every opportunity he got to bug the man. But he only did so, because he felt like it was the only entertainment the old man ever really got.

 _Unfortunately he's not here at the moment… I'm so bored!_ He then scratched his head furiously before stopping and slouching over. He then sighed and looked forward with a bored look on his face. _Oh the curse of being a six year old magician… my darn magic makes me too mature for my own good. Oh I have thought about using the swing like a slingshot, then my rational magician half has to say no that's dangerous!_

While he ranted in his mind Leon did not take into account, that it was indeed dangerous to use the swing like a slingshot. Especially since he planned on being the projectile. But he was still six years old so he could be partially forgiven for that. However what he heard next would be the start of an interesting change in his life. Both bad, good, and everywhere else in between.

"Meow…" Pausing in his rant he turned around to the noise. He then blinked in confusion as he saw two cats, huddled together underneath a cardboard box. It was a simple delivery box and it was right next to a dumpster. Peering at them he saw that they were both kittens, one was black and the other was white. However they both had two different colored eyes. The black one had a blue right eye and a yellow left, and the white one had a yellow right and a blue left.

 _I think it's called hetro… something or other._ Shaking his head he decided that he had found something interesting to do. _Befriending two cute kittens!_ As his inner six year old grinned with glee, his magician side forced him to stay calm. _After all just running up to them would most certainly scare them off._ So with a smile he slowly approached the two cats and crouched down.

At his sudden appearance the white one shrank back, while the black one stood up and hissed. Seeing this Leon began to think of a way to get the black ones trust. Thinking he dug through his pockets to find them empty. Much to his disappointment so he talked quietly to them and improvised.

"I'm not here to hurt you two, I was just curious as to why both of you kitten were alone." Of course in his still six year old mind, he didn't realize that as cats they wouldn't understand him. However at his words the black kitten seemed to hiss louder, before making small mock swipes at him. An obvious warning sign which Leon did in fact recognize. But still trying to befriend the two he got closer only more slowly.

"Hey I really don't mean you any harm kitties." He then held his hand out and the black one looked at it suspiciously.

It then walked out slowly before sniffing at his hand. _I guess I finally succeeded._ That's when the black cat much to his shock bit down on his hand. This made his quickly jump up with the black kitten still biting his hand.

"AHHH! Please stop let go, let go, let go!" As he ran around with the black cat, the white one came out of the box and started running. Seeing the white one run off the black kitten let go and ran after it. As it did anger weld up inside Leon as he took off after them. "Hey you can't just bite someone and run away without apologizing!" Of course they were still cats so they couldn't apologize to begin with. But that was lost on him as he started chasing them through town.

Even through the shopping district he chased them, leaving behind bewildered or amused individuals who watched the scene. Unfortunately where one chases things without thought… they end up in strange and sometimes nasty places. A good example of this would be the tale of Alice in wonderland. Only she chased after a white rabbit, not two opposite colored cats who decided to bite her.

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

Standing outside an old building was a hunched over Leon. His hands on his thighs as he breathed in huge gulps of air. Now while the magic in his body did indeed help him with his physical endurance, and small children do seem to have an abundance of energy… his chase after the two cats had led him to the oldest part of town. A town which was located in the northern parts of Arizona for those who were interested.

 _This was a dumb idea… still I came this far might as well see this through to the end._ Then taking in one last gulp of air he stood up straight before walking over to the building. It was old and black paint was coming off in some places. This showed the brown wood underneath. Although he did not know it the large building used to be an old store. But sometime about fifty years ago, it was infested with rats and was closed down.

Still as he looked around for a way to get in he started hearing frantic meows. Worried over the two kittens (despite having one bite him) Leon redoubled his efforts to find a way in. Eventually he found a broken window with wooden boxes stacked underneath it. Smiling at his good fortune he climbed the boxes and then peered inside. It was dark and it would seem as if he was looking into an office.

Shrugging he leapt inside not even worrying about how he'd get out. _I'll just find another way or stack things against it as well._ That's when he became serious and a little frightened as he followed the sound of meowing, although he started hearing something else. Something that sounded like a girl giggling. Eventually he came to a set of two broken glass doors. That's when he saw a girl about four years older than him.

She had long black hair that reached her waist and had blue eyes which seemed to be glowing. She was also wearing a slim blue suit coat over a white dress shirt; around her neck was also a red tie which she had stuffed into her coat. Then finally she had on a blue skirt the stopped at her knees.

And though he was confused as to why she wasn't wearing any shoes. He did notice that she was holding both kittens up by their tails. The black one in her right, and the white in her left and though young he didn't like the look in her eye. Especially when she licked her lips in what looked like anticipation. Still he mustered up his courage and yelled out to the girl.

"Um excuse me!" Blinking in surprise she turned to him but didn't say anything. Although the two cats were looking at him as if he was crazy.

Which was strange since they were cats. "Those are my cats, that ran in here chasing after something and I came in after them. I'm sorry if we interrupted anything but can you give them back please?" He didn't know why he was lying; all that Leon knew was that this girl was dangerous in some form or another. He also knew that he couldn't just leave the two kittens with her.

Still after a few awkward moments of silence, the girl grinned before dropping the two cats and turning to face him. Immediately the two kittens ran up to him and hid behind his legs. That's when he discovered that the girl wasn't quite normal. She opened her mouth and it split wide open to the very back of her head. Inside was an array of very sharp and needle like teeth. At the scene Leon couldn't help but become stiff as a board as his left eye twitched.

Eventually he spoke in a bored tone. "You know I have to ask… what are your dentistry costs?" At his question the demon girl closed her mouth to just stare at him. As for the cats they were slowly backing away from him. Whether out of fear of the girl or his own apparent insanity it was unclear.

Still after a moment the girl spoke however it just seemed wrong to Leon. "If you must know I don't go to the dentist, I always keep my teeth well cared for. Sharp, shiny, and perfect for tearing out bites of flesh of anyone who catches my fancy. And you little magician… have caught my fancy, much more than the two felines at least." Leon now knew for sure that he had gotten into deep trouble.

After all there weren't many people that could sense out magic like that. _Okay no need to panic… I'm panicking!_ And he his worry only grew, as the demon girl started walking towards him slowly. With every step her smile widened and he took one step back. However as he backed up against the ruined glass door he knew he had to do something.

Truly in his mind he was too young to die and he had the kittens to protect. That and he really wanted to learn how to do proper magic the next day. Which was in fact a Friday in case you were wondering. So gathering his courage, he racked his mind to find a spell that even he could use despite being untrained. Eventually he came to one he had read about in a magical prank book.

Unfortunately it was a sigil type of magic, in other words a type of script magic that required the mage to actually write out the spell. He in fact had no writing tool on him. That's when the girl stopped just a few feet away from him.

"You know little magician boy… I was human once; however I was captured and experimented on by a necromancer. Now I've become like this, but I believe that if I eat enough high quality food like yourself than I'll go back to normal. So won't you please let me eat you?" Leon gulped before shaking his head; this only made her laugh as her fingers turned into long sharp claws. "Well sorry but I wasn't giving you a choice!" She then ran and took a swipe at Leon when she was close enough.

Yelping in fear Leon ducked as the door behind him was shredded, then seeing how she turned around to slash at him again. Leon tucked and rolled under her legs, but not before grabbing the kittens. He then stood up holding them close to his chest. That's when he felt something wet on the side of his face. Using his left hand he felt it to see blood. He gulped nervously as he realized that she had cut him.

"Oh~ look at you! I think red suits you. Maybe we can cover you completely in blood!~ Then I can sauté you up in it before devouring you with a side of cat steak!" She then laughed as Leon's fear grew before his more logical magician half took over.

 _Alright so I don't have any offensive spells, Dad keeps those locked in a separate place. And the spells I can use are all script magic and I don't have any…_ His eyes widened when he looked down to his bloody hand and smirked. _I actually do have a way to write, however I'll need to distract her in order to draw the magic circle._ With that thought in mind he took a deep breath while looking around the large open space.

There were some isle stands still standing, but they wouldn't really work well to keep him hidden. _But maybe they could do something else…_ However before he could think anymore the demon girl attacked him again. Doing the only thing he could think of he ran towards the isle's still holding the cats. Once between what used to be isle seven and eight, he stopped and waited at the end of them.

The girl followed him easily enough but stopped between the two isle walls. That's when with hope he moved to the side and shoved his shoulder against Isle seven. While he probably wouldn't have been able to do this when they were first made. They were in rather bad disrepair and they fell over. The girl screamed as it fell on her, and using this as his chance he went further up and knocked over the first isle. This created a domino effect on the others and they all toppled over.

Hoping that his action would buy him time he ran once more to where he originally came from. He then let the cats down before using his still bleeding forehead, to draw a simple magic circle. Smiling at it he picked up the cats and retreated down the hallway, every few feet he stopped to repeat what he did at the entrance. However by the seventh circle he started feeling woozy.

Though he didn't know what it was, it was actually fatigue and blood loss catching up to him. Truthfully his head wound was a lot worse than he even realized. Unfortunately before he could reach the office where his exit was, he heard loud crashes before the demon girl appeared. But he grinned when she stepped on the first circle, especially when a bunch of ropes sprang up and turned her into a marionette.

This caused the girl to hiss and yell at him. "You despicable little boy! I was going to kill you quickly now I'll just eat you alive!" Not liking the sound of that he turned around and made a run for it. However before he made it ten feet he heard a different voice altogether.

 **(Boost!)** Then before he knew it something slammed into his back, and he dropped the cats as he rolled over on the ground. Eventually he stopped rolling and was now facing the ceiling. But before he could move, the demon girl slammed her left hand down on his chest. He coughed out saliva and blood in pain while he looked up. He did notice however a bulky whitish blue gauntlet on demon girl's hand.

She then spoke to him condescendingly. "You know if it wasn't for this sacred gear… my twice critical, those traps might've actually slowed me down. But with it doubling my power I was able to plough through them with ease. Now I'll make do on my- YEOUCH!" Yelling out in pain she stood straight up as the white cat bit her ear. "Detestable vermin!" But before she could try anything else, Leon stood up and tackled her while grabbing the twice critical.

He didn't know what he was doing. The only thought going through his head was to take the twice critical. His plan was to then use it for himself, to help find a way to escape with the kittens.

That's when something strange happened as he pulled on the gauntlet. There was a bright flash of light, and he felt his magic reserves drop dangerously. As he opened his eyes having closed them from the light, he found himself sitting on the ground. He then found himself holding the sacred gear. Blinking he turned to look at the demon girl, who was staring at him in utter surprise.

"How did you do that? That should be impossible… When you take a sacred gear the user…" As her eyes widened she held her breath and put her right hand over where her heart was. She then put the same hands two pointer fingers on her left wrist. "I'm not dead…" At this revelation she suddenly became very angry and rounded on the poor boy who only eeped. "You… You'll die slowly you miserable human!" She then rushed him preparing to rip him into pieces.

But it would seem as if fate was on Leon's side, as a blue ball of energy slammed into her sending the demon girl flying. She was eventually able to right herself, before snarling at her attacker with her whole mouth opened. Looking behind him Leon saw the familiar figure of his mother.

"MOM!" Yelling out in relief he picked the two cats up before running towards what he believed was salvation. However as soon as he was close enough his mother grabbed his right ear. "OWOWOW!" However his mother ignored his cries of pain as she lectured him.

"Just what do you think you're doing young man?! Really if it wasn't for the distress rune your father put on you, I would've never have known you were in trouble! Then you probably would've been eaten! Well what do you have to say for yourself mister… what is that gauntlet?" Upon noticing the gauntlet held in his arms she also noticed the two cats. With that she blinked in confusion before letting her son go.

Rubbing his ear Leon started his explanation as the demon girl just stared. "Well I saw these two kittens sitting in a box and they looked sad. So I decided to try and become their friend only the black one tricked me and took a bite out of my hand. The white one than ran off and the black one followed. Angry I followed them here, but they entered the building first. I then heard them become scared and made my way inside. That's when I found that girl about to eat them, however upon seeing me she decided to eat me. I never planned for this to happen honest!"

Upon hearing her son's story his mother sighed before rubbing her face. "Why do I even bother?" She then looked at the gauntlet before questioning him again. "Okay that explains the cats but what about that?" Her answer was a shrug before a casual confession.

"I somehow stole this sacred gear from the demon girl." That's when said demon girl yelled out to them.

And she didn't sound happy. "Hey it's rude to ignore people! Especially your better's puny humans!" She was still ignored as Leon's mother muttered something under her breath before speaking again to her son.

"You do know that should be impossible without killing the current user right?" Leon only nodded his head before saying that he did see a flash of light. This got her thinking. "In that case… I can only guess that you somehow had a bout of accidental magic that did this. Which is strange since the last time you've done something like that was two years ago. Still magic is volatile and you must've done something, in which case I guess it's yours now howeve-" She was interrupted as he cheered and put on the twice critical. Instantly it shrank down to his size.

But before he could celebrate his mother grabbed his ear again. "You have a bad habit of not listening Leon!" Ironically she was ignoring the she demon as she yelled at them. Still upon having enough of the treatment, the demon girl yelled out in rage and charged the mother and son. That's when Leon's mother noticed her and sighed in boredom.

She then used her left hand along with a blue light which appeared at her finger tips, made a circle. Suddenly the demon girl ran into an invisible wall before hissing at them in anger.

"Just who are you people?!" At her question Leon's mother smirked before giving a small curtsy and introducing herself.

"I'm sorry for the late introduction but I'm Marilyn Goth Pack, but you can just call me Mary. And this is my son Leon Cutler Pack, he likes Leon or Cutler. And I guess you can say we're just an ordinary family of American magicians.~" The demon girl snarled and charged again, only for Mary to make a zig zag out of the same blue light. This time a lightning bolt flew out from it and hit the girl dead in the chest.

She screamed in pain as her body turned to ash. At the sight Leon looked relieved, as well as disturbed after all he just saw someone die. Still with the threat now over he suddenly felt quite tired, so closing his eyes he toppled over as his mother yelled out to him.

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

 _ **About ? days later**_

* * *

Leon eventually awoke to find himself in his own bed. _Well at least that was just some crazy dream, to bad I would've liked to keep those cats. And… why do I feel something heavy?_ Looking down he was shocked to discover two girls sleeping on his chest. Although he could tell that both weren't human at all, and for some reason seemed a bit familiar to him.

The one on his right side had white hair that reached the bottom of her neck, and had a few bangs framing her face. She also had two white cat ears on her head instead of human ears. The other on his right had longer black hair, with a few bangs covering her right eye. She also had two black cat ears instead of human ears. Both girls were also the same age as he was, and he could for some reason feel four furry tails wrapped around his legs.

He did what he felt was natural at the time. "What are you doing in my bed?!" At his yell both cat girls yawned before looking up at him. The black haired one was the first to speak, although she sounded groggy and a bit grumpy.

"I'm trying to sleep here…" That's when she noticed that Leon was awake. At the black one's stare the white haired girl turned to look at what she was staring at. Upon seeing Leon herself she teared up before speaking.

"You're awake… YOU'RE AWAKE!" She then tackled him in a hug while crying, and while not as bad as the white haired cat girl, the black haired one joined in. Poor Leon however was confused beyond all confusion. Although he did feel bad at having made the two girls cry somehow. So instead of speaking anything he just hugged them back awkwardly and just stared off into space.

 _Okay… what is going on here?_ Eventually as if drawn in by the noise his mother opened up the door. Upon seeing the scene before her she ran up to him and hugged him from behind.

"Thank goodness you're finally awake! It's been over three days Leon!"

His eyes bulged as he spoke. "THREE DAYS!" At his shock his mother pulled back and was about to speak but he cut her off. "I was supposed to begin my magic training two days ago!" At his worries his mother only looked at him blankly before smacking the back of his head. "OW!" At this point both girls had let go of him and were laughing with a couple of sniffles. That's when he turned to them and got a better look.

The white haired girl was shorter than the black haired one. She also had two cat tails coming out of a hole in her white long night dress. The other was about two inches taller, although he was taller standing about three foot one. Still she was wearing a black long night dress, and also had two cat tails coming from a hole in it. And even though he was young he had to admit that they were quite cute.

Still it had occurred to him that he didn't know who they were. "Umm… you know both of you seem familiar but I don't think we've really met before." At this both girls giggled before the black haired one answered.

"Sorry about that, but I'm Aki, and this is my younger twin sister Natsu. We're both the kittens you saved from that demon girl, or more accurately the Nekoshou you saved." She then bowed her head before continuing. "I also deeply apologize for biting you in my cat form. I was suspicious of you since I could tell that you were a magician." At her explanation Leon tilted his head to the side while pondering her story.

 _I guess that explains why they both seemed to be too intelligent for regular cats…_ Still with a sigh he smiled brightly at them before accepting Aki's apology, and petting their heads.

"No harm done, though I do wonder why both of you are here… especially in my bed." At his question both girl blushed heavily, but they were saved from answering as a man walked into the room. Upon seeing him Leon forgot about the two girls completely. "DAD!" Yep standing there smiling was a tall man with short messy black hair and blue eyes. He was also well built and wore a black suit with a top hat. He also had on black slacks and black dress shoes. His suit was also opened revealing a dark grey vest with a black tie underneath it.

As he walked to stand next to his wife he greeted his son. "Hey kiddo I see that you've become quite the hero since the last time we've talked." Now next to his wife we could see that he was about six foot two, about seven inches taller than his wife. Still upon hearing his words Leon blushed, and scratched the back of his head before speaking modestly.

"I didn't do too much… really if Mom hadn't arrived I'd probably been eaten. This would've been a shame since I really wanted to learn magic. And Aki and Natsu here would've probably been eaten as well. Which would've also been completely awful!" That's when both girl turned on him and grabbed his hands before Natsu spoke up.

"NO! If you hadn't come when you did then we would've been eaten for sure! You saved us Leon, despite giving you that awful chase around town. We truly can't repay you enough for that!" Aki nodded in agreement before speaking up.

"Yeah! I was the worst one even though I was just trying to protect Natsu. But you saved us anyways! Just like a true hero!" At their praise and words Leon became scarlet as they went on.

Seeing this his mother laughed before turning to her husband. "Well I guess he has them wrapped around his fingers without knowing it. What do you make of them Dom?" Dom or Dominique Grey Pack just rubbed his chin before answering his wife.

"Well… for one thing he's earned their trust and loyalty for life. You know how Nekomata are, and despite being Nekoshou I figure it's the same. And though they're a bit too young to really realize it, I do believe they've fallen for our boy. Still it makes me wonder what they're doing here in the first place."

"So what are two Japanese Yokai doing here in the first place?" At his lack of tact both Dom and Mary turned to their son with a sigh. However much to their surprise Aki answered his question easily enough.

"Well to be honest we're orphans, and we used to live in Japan. But things started getting strange around there, other Yokai were starting to go missing. But most worrisome was that most of them were Nekos of some kind. Bakenekos, Nekomusume, Nekomata, and especially Nekoshou like us." Nodding her head as if to verify her sister Natsu then finished for Aki.

"Yeah so we decided that moving would be better than staying there and we left. We stowed away on a plane and just eventually made our way here. And I truly hope you won't mind letting us stay here. Your bed is just comfy and as cats we do like to cuddle up and you're just so warm." At her declaration both girls blushed as Leon shrugged. What they didn't say however was that despite being young, they could feel his magic energy burning like a miniature sun. However that didn't mean he had a lot, it just meant that he was a warm hearted person.

This truly comforted the twins, since it had been to long since they had someone they could truly trust. Truthfully the last time they felt someone this warm, was when their own mother was alive. However they didn't yet say how she died not wanting to bring up that memory.

Still he spoke to them with a smile. "Well I don't mind too much, but it's really up to my Mom and Dad." At that point all three of them turned to the parents. Mary quickly looked at her husband who waved his hands defensively.

"Hey don't look at me! I'm usually busy with the rune business I run; if anything you'll be the one taking care of them for the most part. You know feeding them, teaching them, and also shopping with them." With a sigh she conceded his point before turning to them. Their faces were pleading, and she knew that they'd probably stay on the front lawn just to be near Leon. Cats of all kinds were just like that after all. Plus it wasn't like she didn't let them sleep with Leon for the past three days.

So with a stern voice she gave them her decision. "Alright you can stay, but you better behave and help out if asked. Also while I know you can't use our magic, I must ask you to assist Leon on learning his." Both smiled before tackling Leon in a hug. Both also spoke at the same time.

""We'll be the best assistants ever!"" Leon could only laugh and hug them back, happy that he had finally made some friends. Still upon seeing the hugging Dom muttered something under his breath.

"Lucky brat…"

Unfortunately he wasn't quiet enough. "And what do you mean by that dear husband of _mine_?"

He stiffened before answering. "I just mean that he's lucky to have two assistants already, I had to hire mine." Mary gave him a hard stare before sniffing and turning to leave the room.

"I'll take your word for it. But now I must be off, I have five people to feed now after all." Once she left Dom let out a breath of relief.

 _It's a good thing she isn't a physic, or else she'd know that I was jealous of Leon having two girls hanging off of him. Ah the days of when I wanted to be swarmed by a gaggle of cute girls…_ Slapping his cheeks he then turned to his son with a grin.

"So… how would you like to finally start your magic lessons today?" At his question Leon leapt to his feet, although he was unconsciously holding onto a blushing Aki and Natsu.

"HECK YEAH! I've been waiting for years!" That's when his stomach growled and he let the twins go before wrapping his arms around it. "Umm… perhaps after breakfast, after all I haven't eaten in quite a few days…" At his declaration everyone laughed at him as they made their way to the dining room.

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

 _ **A few minutes after breakfast**_

* * *

"Alright my little apprentice today I shall teach you the basics of magic, but first I want to see that sacred gear that you stole." At his father's command Leon shrugged before pausing.

"Uh… how do I do that?"

Dom slapped his forehead muttering something before speaking up. "We're magician's Cutler… Just imagine the thing appearing on whatever hand you put it on." Nodding his head Leon focused his mind. Still it was about five minutes later when he successfully brought out the blue gauntlet. His father quickly knelt to examine it. "A strange color, but there is absolutely nothing interesting about this one. Just a regular twice critical, oh well I was hoping for something more interesting based off your mother's description."

At his words Leon looked put out as he spoke. "It may not be as interesting as you like… but I think it's awesome! After all it can double my power which is really useful. Plus I read that the god of the bible put dragons in all of these! Maybe I can find a way to communicate with it and learn what I can from it!" Behind him both Aki and Natsu now dressed in simple dresses that matched their hair clapped.

Even Dom looked thoughtful. "Well I suppose… but that'll be a side project for you to do on your own. Because even if the means were accidental the sacred gear is now yours. No one else can master it for you just remember that. Now then let's move onto basic magical theory." That's when before he could say anything Leon spoke up without hesitation.

"Magic is used by the use of diagrams and equations powered by mana. Mana is a strange energy in a person's body which is circulated much like the blood system. Only they use what are called ether nodes to get to place to place. These ether nodes work just like blood vessels, and there is even an ether circuit which acts like a heart for magic. Now like with the cardiac system it can be improved upon by "exercising" them with strenuous activity. However if pushed to far it can have bad effects on one's health. However unlike the automatic cardiac system people can direct the mana with will power. However with us humans since we aren't made of mana, we need to write down special equations to utilize our magic. In which case after awhile, and we've memorized the flow of magic that is used to perform the spell. We can cast without drawing out the equation. In which case unlike other beings who can use magic, ours is more science and mathematical. Of course special incantations, and hand movements can also be used to channel mana better. There are even things like foci that can help make magic easier, all in all though practice will make perfect."

When Leon finished Dom just looked at him before speaking. "You read and memorized that whole thing just to show me up right here and now didn't you?" His answer was a smirk as Aki and Natsu giggled in the background. Dom then coughed into his hand before speaking. "Okay then _cheeky brat_ let's get started on different numbers and symbols, then you can try to use a simple spell on your own." Leon saluted with a gleam in his eye as his father produced a few books.

"Alright these are all about different symbols and numbers; they also provide basic structure on what will happen if you combine them. Remember though… there is always more to add than what these books talk about. These are just the basics, eventually when you completely understand them we'll move on to some more advanced stuff. For now this will do just nicely." Leon nodded his head before taking the books eagerly. "Remember if you have any question you can just ask me, I'll just be working on my latest run cluster."

That's when before he could even turn around Leon asked a question. "Hey… what's the difference between Runes, Sigils, and Glyphs anyways?"

Upon hearing his sons question he turned back around to answer him. "While this is a bit more advanced I can easily tell you I guess. Now while they are all script magic, meaning that the only way to use them is to write them down somehow. They each have different properties. For runes they are permanent, they stick around until they completely are eroded away by time or heavy usage. Sigils stay around until used that's when they disappear, however you can put them on things and they'd stay until the item is destroyed."

Dom then took a deep breath before continuing. "Glyphs however can be created with pure magic unlike the other two which require different mediums to channel magic. But unlike the last two they only last a couple seconds at most before disappearing. This is why glyphs are the most common type of script magic to be used in combat; now then I suggest you get to reading. You have a long way to go before you're as good as me."

Fueled by his father's words Leon quickly started reading the books he was given. As he sat down in the large workshop area of the house both Aki and Natsu sat next to him. As they read every once and a while Leon would ask a question, or explain something to the two nekos. After a few hours Dom stretched out his back and messaged his right hand before looking at the notebook he was writing in.

 _This seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Ah well I better scrap this and try again, but maybe after a small snack._ He then got up and ripped the paper out of his notebook before burning it to ash in his hand. He then brushed the ash off into a garbage can. _After all you can't be too careful, who knows who might try to steal it._ He then turned to the kids who were still reading.

"Hey how about a small break, you've been reading that for four hours now." All of them looked up and shook their heads as he shrugged. "Suit yourselves; I'm going to go get a drink. Try not to blow anything up until I get back?"

A cheeky grin made it to Leon's face. "No promises here, after all I'm thinking of trying out something here." Thinking it was a joke Dom laughed before waving them off.

"Yeah, yeah the great magician must try out his new spell." He then left to the kitchen for some water. Unfortunately when he was sipping leisurely from his glass cup he heard an explosion. Spitting out the water he ran back to the workshop. Inside he saw Leon, and the twin Nekoshou covered in soot but otherwise okay.

That's when he groaned at Leon's remark. "Wow… who knew that an octagon base, with a water and earth symbol tied into a pentagon equation with a time circle would cause such a blast! I just wanted to see if we could make magic soil from this." Both girls coughed out smoke but nodded their heads as Dom spoke up.

"You were actually serious before weren't you?" Leon looked at his father in confusion.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Dom sighed again before speaking again. "And just why did you want to create a better kind of soil?"

Leon nodded instantly. "Because I want to get into potion making as well and I need special soil for that. Plus plants can be used in alchemy which I also want to look at. After all as you know, my dream is to surpass not only Merlin and Morgan Lefay as magic users… But also Nickolas Flammel!" Upon hearing his sons declaration Aki and Natsu clapped their hands in support. Dom however could only shake his head. He then looked at the burned out magic circle before frowning.

Because in the center of it was actually some soil. Curious he walked over to it as Leon started apologizing to Aki and Natsu for the explosion, both girls only giggled and forgave him.

Once next to it he knelt down and examined it, and to his shock he could tell that the soil had some magical properties. He then looked back to his son who was brushing off the soot from the hair of the twins.

He then smiled. _Well it would seem as if you might just pull off those dreams after all. We just need to make sure that you don't blow up anything else._

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

As he finished reading the man in white closed the book before speaking. "Well that's his true beginning, what do you think thus far?" The one in black snorted before answering.

"The kids an idiot but a brave ingenious one. An oxymoron but I do believe he'll do well as his talents are worked upon. Still there is something about that sacred gear which is strange."

The one in white nodded his head in agreement. "True… in this world the god of the bible created the sacred gears to allow humans, to combat the supernatural. However he never realized that half humans or even reincarnated humans could wield them. Still he had put in hundreds of spirits and items into the different sacred gears, so much so that I doubt that he even remembered them all. Especially when the great war broke out between heaven, the underworld, and the Grigori."

"HA! True but the idiot should have realized that his little _gifts_ to humanity could be used against him. Especially since all the supernatural are on a hunt for them now. Still this kid wasn't born with one, but accidentally stole it. Is that even possible? Or does he have some sort of secret power."

The man in white smiled before answering cryptically. "Who knows… but in any case I have a feeling that we'll find out soon enough." The one in black scoffed at him angrily.

"Who knows? You bloody well know! You've read the blasted book already, now come on tell me if that thing has anything special to it."

Sighing the man in white decided to give his companion something small. "I'll only say this, that sacred gear has nothing unique about it. It is truly just an ordinary twice critical that was taken with the se of accidental magic. After all in times of great need or desire magic can be quite volatile. Especially if it is a young child in desperate need, because after all they are the ones with some of the strongest desires." At his explanation the other man finally sighed before nodding in agreement.

"A shame… I would've liked to see something interesting. But I guess the unique color was just a whim of the old god. Still what he said about it… makes you wonder about all the other sacred gears in the world."

The one in white shrugged before speaking again. "Well what do you expect? He put a lot of intelligent and sentient creatures into his little weapons. Still he was only doing what he thought best, and perhaps things are better this way. After all could you imagine this world without sacred gears?"

The one in black snorted before answering. "It would be a dull world indeed, now shall we continue?"

"Maybe but first a short break, that way our watchers will have some time to think about this themselves."

The one in black sighed again. "Fine I suppose you do know best."

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

 **Magic Notes…**

 **Rope Prank Sigil: A simple spell made originally for trapping. However as hunting died down, it ended up changing to just holding a person or thing up like a puppet. A simple enough spell that almost everyone even non-magic users can use.**

 **Basic barrier circle: A weak defensive spell made to at the least stop physical objects. However despite how weak it is, the spell can be used quickly in any situation.**

 **Basic Lightning line: As its name implies it is a basic lightning spell. However the more strength put into the more powerful it is. But one can only put so much energy into it before the spell burns out the equation used to make it.**

* * *

 **Judan: Another end to another chapter.**

 **Slayer: Wow six years old and already he has two cat girls. Isn't this a bit young?**

 **Judan: (shrugs) Well I needed to do this now because of the time line I'm building. Still nothing will happen between them for a long time, they're just little kids after all.**

 **Shadow: True enough but I have a feeling that there is more to this magic family then meets the eye…**

 **Mary: Hush you! Don't give away our families secrets!**

 **Shadow: Sorry ma'am…**

 **Judan: Yeah so anyways I'm actually having some issues right now. You seem I'm trying to pace this story correctly but I can't seem to get it down right.**

 **Slayer: Yeah I can understand that, especially since we're not going off of any events from canon.**

 **Judan: Actually we are… but we won't see any canon characters for a long time. We are after all in America where it seems as if nothing really happened in canon. Anyways there's a hint as to where we are in canon in this chapter. But there won't be anything clear for a bit. Which is where my trouble is, so any suggestions from you watchers will help.**

 **Shadow: HA! As if they'll do anything… we asked them for help with our character speech and they've said nothing for the last year about it.**

 **Slayer: He unfortunately has a point…**

 **Mary: Oh I'm sure they're just happy with the way you two do things.**

 **Judan: Maybe I've made you a bit to optimistic… Well besides that do you want to end this?**

 **Mary: Sure!~ Now then this has been a Dark Guard production now signing off!**

 **Everyone: Goodbye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Judan: You know I've realized something…**

 **Slayer: What?**

 **Judan: It's easier to do these stories as a three segment thing.**

 **Shadow: Three segment?**

 **Judan: Yeah like Void Emperor, Black Dragon White Cat, and then Power of magic or whatever we decide to work on. Thus allowing me to keep my mind fresh.**

 **Aki: I don't think you're nearly as fresh as you say you are.**

 **Natsu: I agree with Nee Chan.**

 **Judan: Who asked you?!**

 **Natsu: (Whimpers) I'm sorry…**

 **Aki: Hey don't make my sister cry!**

 **Shadow: You shouldn't take it personal… he's always been a violent idiot.**

 **Judan: I hate you…**

 **Shadow: I know you do, but I'm going to ignore you now and do the reviews.**

 **Judan: AHHH!**

 **Shadow: Now then to our friend moops… we thank you for reviewing and taking an interest in this story. But as to your suggestion we've already decided on a number although none of them are Canon characters. In fact most people we'll be seeing aren't canon.**

 **Slayer: Doesn't mean there won't be any of course they'll just show up every once and a while. Except for one which should be pretty obvious. Now then who wants to end this?**

 **Natsu: Can I?**

 **Shadow: Of course you can little kitten.**

 **Natsu: Okay then… we here at the Dark Guard productions own nothing but OC's and reality building concepts. Everything else belongs to their respective owners. Now without further ado…**

 **Everyone: Here's the story!**

 **Judan: You know I didn't get many lines here…**

 **Aki: I got even less than you jerk! (Slap!) That's for being mean to my sister!**

 **Judan: Okay I'm sorry!**

* * *

Hello= Regular talk

 **(Hello)= Sacred Gears**

' _Hello'_ _Telepathy_

 _Hello= Thoughts/talking to inner spirits_

(J/N)= Judan Notes

(S/N)= Slayer notes

* * *

Chapter Three: The choice of weaponry

* * *

Sighing the man in black sat down and slumped into his seat. "Okay it's been a bit, for us a few hours. For our watchers a week or so, now can we continue? I'm interested in knowing what the kid might do next." His companion chuckled before giving him an answer.

"Sure I bet you're dying to know, but remember we aren't really skipping through this. In other words we'll be watching most of his life as he develops. But I'm sure you already knew that. After all you were the one who suggested it in the first place." Snorting the one in black waved him off.

"I know that already let's just get to reading, I'm curious to see how quickly he'll grow. And I will also admit to loving romance a bit, so I'm also curious to see how his relationship with the cats will grow. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one, the watchers are probably quite curious about that as well."

The one in white seemed to shake his head. "They're still just six… you know that right?" The man in black shrugged uncaringly.

"So what? I had a "girlfriend" when I was that old. Although I say that it was just in fact just holding hands and hugging each other. But you get the idea." Sighing the one in white just got out the book before opening it up.

"You were always the impulsive and impatient one. I on the other hand waited until I was ten, but let's leave this for later. I'm going to begin now just like you asked, plus I bet the watchers would like us to start. We are kind of boring…" At his statement both slumped forward in depression for a moment. "Alright let's just get to it."

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 _ **Line Break**_

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Sitting down at the table was a sighing Dom who was drinking a glass of milk. Hearing her husband sigh, Mary turned to her depressed love with a frown.

"What's wrong dear? You sound rather tired." Chuckling he scratched the back of his head before answering.

"It's just Cutler… besides the trip to buy the girls some new clothes. He's been practically held up in the workshop for the last two weeks. I mean I know he's excited and he is working hard. But he's going to burn himself out at this rate. Luckily for us the twins force him to take a break every now and then, even if it's just to turn back into kittens and have him pet them. Still he's needs to get out and exercise. Unfortunately you know as well as I do, that unless he's doing something interesting he doesn't like leaving the house."

Mary thought on her husband's words for a moment. "Well as you know, both of us have trained in our physical skills as well as magical. Because we know that we can't always rely on pure magic, unfortunately it seems as if we haven't pounded this fact into Leon yet." She then smiled evilly making her husband shiver. "I think I know what to do about our little scientist!~ Let me just make a quick call to an old friend of mine. But you know… I think this will help out the twins as well."

Dom raised an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean by that? And who is this friend you're talking about? Is it anyone that I know because… I kind of don't want to pay anything too expensive." Mary waved him off with an innocent smile.

"Oh don't be like that! He's an old martial artist buddy of mine back when I was training in kung Fu. While I went on to master magic after a while, he went to learn from the shaolin monks. As to why this will help the girls… they need someone to help them learn about their own abilities. Not just the magic I've been showing them, and as a monk I'm sure he can help them."

Her husband nodded his head before remembering something. "Hey… here's a question. Why did you allow them to sleep with the brat anyways? In fact why are you still letting them?" She gave him another innocent smile before answering.

"You want to know why? It's simple…" Suddenly stars lit up in her eyes while she clasped her hands together. "It's because I want tons of cute grandbabies to spoil!~" As she continued to gush over how cute they could be, Dom adopted a very bored look.

"And she says Cutler get's his personality from me…" Unfortunately his wife heard him say that.

"What was that?" Gulping Dom shook his head while laughing nervously.

"Nothing dear! I was just agreeing with you!" She looked at him for a few moments before huffing, Mary then turned around before speaking one last time.

Although there was an edge to her voice. "Yeah that's what I thought. Now then… I best be off to call my friend, but now that I think about it. I haven't heard from him since Leon was born… I wonder how he's doing." With that she left leaving Dominique all alone.

Taking another sip from his milk he sighed before speaking out loud. "How did I come to marry such a scary and violent woman? Ugh… oh well now then I wonder what Cutler is doing? It's been way to quiet not a single explosion, and usually there are two a day." Getting up he stretched out his back. "Well better go and make sure he didn't kill himself with poisonous gasses or something. Mary would kill me if that happened." Letting out an involuntary shiver at that thought he left the kitchen.

Back in the work shop a certain young magician was trying something new. He was sitting down looking at a spoon that was broken in half; underneath it was a strange octagon shape inside a circle with a pentagon inside it, and a square inside that. There were also strange runes and letters along the edges of each shape. However the square had nothing next to it yet. It was done in chalk, and Leon was currently tapping said chalk on the ground in frustration.

He was also wearing new clothes, something he chose to wear to be more "Scientific" as he said. He had on a grey lab coat and rubber boots. He also had on a blue long sleeved shirt and black jeans. Around his waist was a black belt with different sized pouches attached to it on all sides.

Over on a work table behind him Aki and Natsu were making paper cranes. Although they as well wore different clothes… Aki had on a white tank top with a black skirt, she also had her hair done up in a braid. She was also wearing a white lab coat and had on black rubber boots with white tights.

Natsu was wearing a black short sleeved button up shirt with a white skirt. She also had the back of her hair in a pony tail with two long bangs framing her face. She also had some slightly covering her eyes. Finally she wore a black lab coat and white rubber boots with black tights. Funnily enough it was Leon who helped pick out their new clothing. Well… we say helped but they kind of dragged him along and just asked his opinion. The poor boy was completely exhausted by the end of the trip.

When Natsu finished the crane she was making she smiled before getting out a pen. Grinning she wrote a few things in a strange script on both wings. When she was done Natsu threw it up in the air, there it started flapping its wings and flew around a bit before landing in front of her. At her success Natsu clapped in joy before picking it up and looking it over. The letters were only slightly faded and that made her smile bigger. Next to her Aki grumbled a bit before finishing up her crane.

Next she did what her sister did and threw it up in the air; it flew for a couple of seconds before falling back onto the table. This made the young Nekoshou sigh in disappointment. Smiling sympathetically Natsu patted her older twin on the shoulder comfortingly. At this Aki smiled up at her before looking back at her failed flying crane.

"I just don't get it Natsu Chan! I'm doing everything you're doing so why won't my shikigami work? Ugh… paper magic is a lot harder than I thought it would be Nya!" Throwing up her arms she leaned back into her chair. "I mean seriously! Am I not putting enough chakra into the conversion sigil or something? What do you think?" Looking at her older sister for a moment Natsu turned to the crane while rubbing her chin.

After a moment she spoke. "Maybe you're putting in too much chakra Mya? Remember you have a lot more chakra than me, so your control is low. I have more control because I have less… so maybe you're overloading it? Try putting in even less this time." Taking her sister's advice seriously Aki turned back to her crane and rewrote the old script. Already the script from before was faded and illegible. Then with a small breath Aki put in as little of her power as she could, with that she threw it into the air where it flew.

Smiling gleefully she glomped her younger sister in a hug. "It's finally working! Thanks Natsu Chan! You're the best Imoutou ever Nya!" As she was being praised Natsu blushed heavily as Leon took note of what they were doing.

"I see you managed to do it, congratulations you two!~" Turning to their hero with blushes they nodded their heads before Aki spoke up.

"Yeah but Natsu Chan helped me out a bit, I do have more chakra than she does after all Nya. But remind me to thank your mom for suggesting shikigami to us. Paper magic is a lot more fun than I first gave it credit for! I mean look! Our origami can now literally fly Nya!" Leon smiled at their enthusiasm while petting both girls behind the ears. Both quickly began purring in satisfaction making Leon smile.

 _They are both so cute!~_ As this was going on his father entered the room and saw what was going on.

"I see that you're still spoiling them a bit son." Stopping to look at him Leon raised an eyebrow before speaking drily.

"Hello kettle pot called, he says your black." At his comment both girls giggled while Dom's left eye started twitching. However he couldn't refute his words, both he and his wife spoiled them even though they ask them not to. Because as Leon just recently thought, the twins were just too cute for their own good.

Didn't stop him from retorting though. "You really do take after your mother don't you?" At his question his son only shrugged making him sigh. "Okay then… we'll just leave that conversation to be picked up never. So make any new breakthroughs our scientific alchemy mage?" At his question Leon slumped over and looked at the ground. "Still can't seem to fix the spoon huh? Well I can always help you if you like."

Leon looked up and shook his head before giving his answer. "Sorry… but I need to try and do this on my own! If I want to become the best, than I need to at least figure out the simple things on my own." He then turned his head to the side before speaking in disappointment. "Besides mom told me you're only really good at script magic, so you'd be useless to me here." His father could only say one thing to that.

"You are definitely your mother's son…" Again this only got his son to shrug. Sighing in utter disappointment Dominique left the room with an air of depression. At his actions Aki and Natsu walked up to Leon.

The first to question him was Natsu who was on his right. "Is your dad going to be okay Mya? He's seems kind of depressed." Leon patted her on the head before answering. Although it wasn't something either girl expected.

"Don't worry about it!~ Everyone he knows treats him like this so it's not that big of a deal!~" Right outside the door Dom heard what his son said.

"That brat…"

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 _ **Line Break**_

 _ **The next day!**_

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In his room sleeping restfully was Leon; on top of him were Aki and Natsu. It was a usual sight to see, and after the first few days Leon had gotten used to it. Eventually he had even come to enjoy it; his reason was that both girls were just so huggable.

Looking around one might find a few large papers with strange diagrams on them, and even some equations that seemed a bit to advance for a six year old. Other things included a large walk in closet, a desk and chair, some filing cabinets, a door to a bathroom, some storage boxes, a large brown dresser with some wear, a white dresser which looked new, and a black one that also looked rather new.

The two new dressers were for Aki and Natsu, each color coded of course. White for Natsu, and black for Aki. Though for the new trio, today would be a day full of surprises. And it started when his mother opened the door and walked over to them.

"They really are amazingly adorable!~ It's too bad that I have to wake them up, but first…" Taking out a portable camera she took a picture of the scene. "This is going into the family album!~" After putting the camera away she took out a whistle and smiled evilly. "I've missed being able to this to my older sister." With those words she blew on it, and quite loud to. However… they just made pained faces before cuddling closer to one another.

Mary frowned heavily at that. "That was cute… but unlike my sister it would seem as if they're even heavier sleepers. Oh well time for plan B!~" With another evil smile she put away the whistle, and got out a spray bottle. It was full of water and she aimed it at the sleeping trio. She then pulled the trigger spraying them wet. It was ice cold water, but it still didn't wake them. Frowning again she twisted off the top, but before she could dump the contents of the bottle on them Leon stirred.

Yawning he sat up a bit while he continued to hug the twins. "Another morning has come and… why am I wet?" Looking around he found his mother holding the spray bottle. "That's not a very nice way to wake someone up Mom." Her left eye twitched while he turned to the twins. "Hey it seems like it's time to wake up you two." With that both girls stirred awake.

The first to speak was Aki. "Good morning Nya. Huh… why are we slightly damp?" At her question the twins looked at Leon expectantly. In return he just shrugged and pointed at his mother.

"I'm not so sure, but I'm pretty sure Mom knows why. After all she is the one holding the spray bottle." With that all three of them turned to Mary with questioning eyes. In return she could only sigh, disappointed that her plans to wake them up failed. Eventually she shook her head and went on to answer their questions.

"Well… today I want you three to meet someone; he'll be helping the three of you. Not with magic, but with physical abilities. And I wanted to make sure you three would be up and about. You see he's a master monk from the shaolin temples, and he's agreed to help teach you a few things." At her words Leon's eyes lit up and he grinned before jumping up still holding Natsu and Aki.

His actions and words surprised his mother. "Awesome! I can actually learn shaolin kung fu?! This is going to be just as fun as learning how to do magic!" At his words both girls yelled out their agreement while Mary just watched them.

 _And here I thought he would complain… In fact why isn't he? I can understand Aki and Natsu, but Leon's always complained about physical exercise. The time before he saved the twins is a perfect example!_ With that question in mind she spoke out loud.

"You know… I always thought that you hated going outside and exercising. Why are you acting like you love it now?" At her question Leon let the twins go before looking at his mother in confusion.

"What are you talking about? I've never said that, I like getting stronger. It's just that I hate being bored, and there's never anything interesting going on outside. It only gets interesting when I make it interesting!" Sighing his mother shook her head but didn't necessarily disagree with him.

 _The mundane world really is boring after all…_ With that she left them, but not before giving them instructions to wear comfortable clothing. They were going to be doing martial arts after all. _Or at least some basic strength exercises._ In the end after a bit of thinking, the kids got out their clothes and Leon went to the bathroom to get changed. As for the twins they went inside the large walk in closet.

The first one done was Leon; he was now wearing a black long sleeved sweat shirt that had a turtle neck. On his legs he wore grey sweatpants; he had opted not to wear socks or shoes though. Once he was out of the bathroom he sat on his bed waiting for the twins. He didn't have to wait long as they came out of the closet. Both had on grey sport pants with long sleeved shirts. However Aki's shirt was black and Natsu's was white.

Smiling he spoke to them while jumping off the bed. "Alright let's get going now. I'm sure you're just as interested in this as I am." Both grinned and nodded their heads before all three of them raced out of the room. As they approached the kitchen they heard Mary talking to someone.

"Again I'm sorry to call you on such short notice Chang, but I really need the help. Because as you know I can't teach very well." There was a soft laugh before they heard a man answer her.

"It's alright Marilyn, truth be told I needed to leave the temple for a bit anyway. The grandmaster said I needed to travel and see the world a bit before I could learn more. And you did help me all those years ago with that stray devil infestation. Really if it weren't for you I'd be gone from this world. So teaching your son and his girlfriends would be a pleasure." At his words Aki quickly jumped into the kitchen with a heavily blushing face.

"We're not like that! The three of us are just good friends Nya!" Following behind her was both Leon and Natsu; they were wearing the same scarlet face as Aki. Despite that they managed to get a good look at the man talking. He had a freshly shaven head, but had brown eyebrows and was fairly muscular. Though not bulky in his muscle mass, he was also wearing the traditional Gi of the shaolin monks, although for some reason they were grey. Chang also got a good look at the children he would be teaching. Aki's response though made him smile.

He found the scene nice and introduced himself with a bow. "I didn't mean to imply something untrue. I am Chang Li Wong, an old friend of Marilyn and as she told you I've agreed to teach you three some things. However know that it will be difficult and I expect you three to work hard. Also know that I can't teach you everything I've learned from the monks. A number of things are secret and are only supposed to be known to us."

At his serious tone the trio stopped blushing and stood at attention. When he finished the three of them saluted and gave out a yes sir, this only made Chang laugh at their synchronization. That's when Dom came in and saw the events happening. Already having met Chang earlier in the night when they teleported him in, he instead walked up to the fridge while talking.

"Well it would seem as if things are lively this morning. Now who wants breakfast while we plan out your new schedules?" The kids raised their hands, and then quickly sat down at the large rectangle table in the dining room. Soon after breakfast was served and then quickly eaten. Once finished Chang took the kids outside to the backyard, a very grassy area with a few things there already.

There were thirty six feet tall wooden poles all stabbed into the ground. Each pole was only a medium step way from one another. There were also pull up bars, some balancing beams, a large gong, a few weapon racks though they only had wooden weapons, a tub full of sand, and finally some practice dummies.

Clapping his hands in order to get the curious children attention he then spoke. "Okay now remember you will be training with me four out of seven days of the week, for the next few years. In other words Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. For our first lesson I'm just going to see where you three are at, after which I'll start training you in areas you need to improve on. Now who wants to go first?" Deciding to take the leap Leon stepped up making Chang nod in his direction.

"Alright then, weapon or fists? It's up to you to decide what you want to specialize in, though you will train a bit in everything. After all overspecialization makes you weak in some areas." Nodding his head Leon looked around and eventually saw a dual sword. It had a ten inch handle and had two three foot long blades coming out of both ends of the handle.

It also had four, six inch long guards with ninety degree angles in the middle. All four of them pointed towards the blade on the other end. Smiling he walked towards the weapon as if drawn to it; he then picked it up from the rack and swung it around for a couple of seconds. Satisfied he turned to his teacher.

"Alright I'm ready now Mr. Chang!" The monk smiled before grabbing an identical weapon while speaking again.

"That is well, but from now on you all will call me Shifu Wong." Leon nodded his head and Chang continued. "Now first we make a fist with our right hand while holding our left straight up. We then bring our fist to our left palm and bow. This is to show respect to our opponents. But remember don't cuff your left hand over your fist, that is a sign for a duel to the death. We are just sparring."

Leon gulped a bit at that last thing but nodded his head. He then proceeded to do what his new Shifu had said and bowed low. This was mirrored by Chang, although his bow wasn't nearly as low. When both were returned to their normal stances, Leon looked at Chang carefully. He was remembering his fight with the demon girl and remembered how helpless he was.

 _This is my chance to change all that, after all I need to be strong enough to protect Natsu and Aki!_ With a small yell he ran at his opponent and swiped at him with the weapons lower blade. In response Chang only slightly moved his own to block it with ease. Leon wasn't disappointed however; he knew he couldn't touch the master fighter. He just needed to see where his current skill was at, and then he'd be able to move on and get stronger.

So with a smile he pushed his top blade forward, but when he saw Chang move to intercept it he stopped. He then moved to the left a bit and gave his master a horizontal slash. Chang smiled as he easily moved his own weapon to intercept it. The wooden blade was caught between the top blade and one of the guards.

"Good it would seem as if you have some strategy in battle. However you must become faster and stronger, you must not think as much. All must be instinctive chain of attacks, now it's time for you to defend." Leon gulped at the gleam in his eye, but quickly regained his bearings as Chang struck at him quickly. Holding his weapon up Leon began to sweat profusely as he did his best to defend himself.

However it quickly became clear that he was reaching his physical limit, and after one more blow his weapon was knocked out of his hands. It bounced on the soft ground as Leon fell to his knees shirt wet with sweat, and his breathing labored as his hands stung from the different impacts on his weapon.

 _He really doesn't mess around… but I guess I knew I was going to lose anyways._ Smiling down at his new student, Chang held his hand out to Leon interrupting his thoughts. Looking at the hand offered made Leon smile and he took it without hesitation. Once up Chang took a couple steps back before repeating his bow from before the spar. Taking that as a cue Leon followed his lead.

"I see that you can follow simple cues, this is also to show respect. For no matter if you win or lose the spar, both participants come away with at least something. Even if the one who lost walks away with the better prizes." Chang then placed his hand on Leon's shoulder before turning to the twins. "Now I've seen what your friend here can do, but I've yet to see what you two are capable of. So please decide who goes next while Leon takes a small rest and the other watches."

"I'll go next if that's alright Mya." At her declaration both Aki and Leon looked at Natsu in surprise. This only made her blush before explaining her decision. "Look I know I'm not the most confident person out there… but I want to see where I'm supposed to be heading Mya. I truly want to get stronger after all, that way I won't be burden to any of you." With a smile Leon walked up to her before petting her head.

She purred a bit as he talked. "Don't worry we'd never think of you as a burden, but I have to respect your decision." Coming up behind her Aki patted her younger sister's shoulder with a small smirk.

"What Cutler said is true Imoutou. Really you'd never be a burden Nya, you're just too smart for that to happen.~" Natsu smiled brightly at the praise and support, and stepped forward as Leon stopped petting her.

Smiling at the young girl Chang spoke up. "Now I'm sure you remembered the instructions I gave to pupil Leon. But again I must ask, fist or weapon it is up to you to decide what your path will be." Gulping nervously Natsu looked at the weapons before spotting something, three something's actually. Curious she walked up them before examining the wooden swords. There was a Katana, Wakizashi, and Uchigatana. Picking up the normal sized blade in her left hand, and the short sword in her right Natsu turned to her master.

"Um… Shifu Chang why do you have Japanese weaponry? I thought shaolin monks were mainly Chinese Mya?" Though also curious about the weaponry, Aki looked at the Uchigatana with interest. After a bit she smiled having decided on her own path with gusto.

Unbeknownst to Aki's thoughts Chang answered her with a soft smile. "It's because while we personally do not use such one edged swords. I thought that I might as well have some just in case any of you were interested. After all I'm just teaching you the stances, as well as ways to strengthen yourselves. Experience and eventual mastery will be up to all of you." Nodding her head Natsu walked towards him, as Chang got out two Chinese broadswords.

They were also one edged weapons, though shorter and more curved than her katana. Although they were the same length as the wakizashi, so seeing their size Natsu tried to come up with a game plan. In the end she decided to just give it her all and hope for the best.

With that they both got into position and reenacted the bows from before. Both readied themselves after that and watched one another carefully. But like before the younger opponent attacked first, though this time it was through nervousness rather than desire to make the first move. Chang easily saw this but kept a neutral face. After all he first had to assess all of the children first, before speaking about what they did wrong or right.

She struck at him with her short sword first, and he had to raise an eyebrow while blocking her. _The girl has plenty of strength and speed for her size and demeanor. It must have something to do with her Yokai heritage._ Smiling as he easily held her off, Chang pushed Natsu back a bit. Now seeing how it was too great a distance for her wakizashi, the white haired girl swung her katana at her teacher.

This was easily blocked like before, but Natsu didn't let up and took a step forward while slashing at him horizontally with her short blade. Using his right blade he blocked her strike before it connected. His arms were cross but he used that against Natsu, with a swift turn of his arms he knocked the Nekoshou down. But that's when she surprised him by kicking her right leg at him. In order to avoid it he jumped back allowing the girl time to get up.

Though she was now breathing heavily and sweat came off her face. Seeing how she was still willing to continue Chang's smile grew, but along with the smile he decided on going on the offensive. So with amazing speed he charged the young girl. At this new development Natsu's eyes widened as she backpedaled, all the while trying to block all of Chang's strikes.

 _This must be how Leon Kun felt Mya!_ However as she thought that Chang smacked her left hand, this made her yelp in pain and let go of her katana. But before she could do anything else, Chang hit her wakizashi with such force it also flew from her hand. Now disarmed she fell down looking up at her master with shocked eyes. Her breathing was also extremely heavy and her clothes were drenched with sweat. Taking this as her limit for the time being Chang put both weapons into his left hand.

But with he offered his right to his student in which Natsu gratefully took it. Both then bowed to one another and Natsu picked up her training weapons. Soon after she joined Leon, sitting down next to him she put both weapons to her right seeing how the boy was on her left. That's when she looked at her left hand that was now swelling a bit.

As she winced Leon noticed. "Hey are you going to be okay?" The Nekoshou looked at him with a smile.

"I will be, thanks for worrying though Leon Kun. I appreciate your concern Mya." Chuckling at the use of the Japanese honorific and her verbal tick, Leon brought up his right arm and began scratching her ears. This got the girl to relax and lean her head onto his shoulder, all the while she was purring. Watching the scene was Chang and Aki, both were smiling at them. Although Aki felt a bit jealous, but not because Leon was spending time with her sister.

 _That's no fair! I want to be petted by Cutler Kun as well Nya!_ Seeing the small pout on his student's face as she approached the weapons made Chang chuckle a bit.

"Oh to be young again and be in love." Now while he was right in a way… he also didn't figure out that Aki just wanted to be petted. Cats are just funny that way; all they really want is someone to pet them. But back to the story in which Aki had picked up the Uchigatana, however she frowned at the weapon.

"I want to use this Nya… but I think it's a bit too long for me at this moment. Oh well Nya!" With that statement she picked up the four and a half foot long blade. Upon seeing her decision, Chang looked at her skeptically. But decided to see where she went with it first before saying anything. He then went and picked up a jian from the rack, it was only three feet long but he knew it would do.

So after repeating once again the bows from before, both combatants squared off against one another. Like the last two times the youngest attacked first. Although what she did surprised the monk. Holding her sword in her right Aki pulled back her left hand and made a fist. When she got close enough she jumped up and aimed a punch at his chest.

Still he saw it coming and easily grabbed her tiny hand in his right hand. _Hmm… she's both faster and stronger than Natsu, and she was both faster and stronger than Leon. It would seem as if I really shouldn't underestimate them. However so far Leon seems the most skilled out of them._ With those thoughts he picked Aki up by her fist, making her yell out in fright before tossing her.

Freaking out a bit while falling, Aki did the most natural thing for her to do as she neared the ground. That was to land on all fours like a cat. After the successful landing, Aki gave out a breath of relief before jumping to her feet and turning back to her tosser. She really wasn't happy about what just happened, and her tail and ears twitched in annoyance. The monk noticed but only smiled at her apparent agitation. He knew she'd have to work on her temper later, but for now they would continue sparing.

Again Aki moved forward first, this time holding the Uchigatana in both hands out to her right. When she was close enough she swung vertically at him, but Chang just brought up his sword to block it. But again she surprised him a bit by kicking out at him with her left leg. This he blocked with his knee before pulling back and taking a swing at her.

Seeing it coming Aki braced her sword and blocked the attack, however she was pushed to her left from the force of the attack. Gritting her teeth from the pain of blocking such an attack, Aki ducked down and thrusted her weapon at her opponent. Seeing the attack coming Chang only twirled his sword to his right deflecting the blade in that direction.

Unfortunately for Aki this got her off balance and Chang whacked her on the back. Yelling out in pain she almost dropped her weapon, but with willpower she gripped it tighter. Then with some tears she turned around, while doing so she used the momentum to slash at her teacher. It was easily blocked and pushed back, that's when Chang ended the fight by swinging his sword at Aki's exposed middle.

Though it wasn't nearly as hard as he could've made it, Aki still dropped her weapon and collapsed to her knees holding her stomach. Some tears were falling from her eyes, and she was biting her lower lip to keep from crying out. Sighing Chang backed up feeling slightly bad, but knew that bruises and pains were a common place in sparring.

However he had to smile when the other two children ran up to her in worry. As he watched their interaction, he became interested in how the girls weren't fighting over Leon's attention. In fact both were truly worrying about Aki's condition, though she kept saying that she was fine. Chuckling he spoke to them all with a small hint of regret, it was his fault after all.

"I must apologize for that last blow, but as you might know your enemies won't be holding back. Still all three of you did well, but let me point out some things. Leon you are the most skilled in combat, but lack strength and speed. Natsu you have decent strength, speed, and skill, but you're too nervous. In order to truly fight you must overcome your doubt and fight with courage. As for you Aki, strength and speed you have in spades but you are lacking in skill and strategy. But that's enough sparring against me for today."

The trio breathed in relief before Chang spoke again with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't say we were done, I just meant your fight with me is done for today. But you see we'll be sparring at least once a training day. But for now you'll be fighting each other on the balance poles over there. Oh… and I suggest you don't fall off, after all there is a good chance you'll hit another pole on the way down."

The three of them gulped while looking at the poles sticking out of the ground. As for their teacher he just grinned at their faces. He knew this was going to be rather fun, for him that is not so much for the kids.

 _Novices are always so much fun to teach._

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 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

It hadn't taken them long for the trio to realize that their teacher was a demon. Because after the balance pole fight, he tied their legs to the pull up bars instructing them to do crunches in mid-air. After that he had them run around the yard while wearing resistance seals. He had Dom put them onto the trio, and it made it seem as if they were running through water. Much to their disappointment Chang decided to have them keep the seals on. All day, every day unless they needed to take them off.

But if that wasn't enough for them he made them punch their fists in the sand containers. This was to mimic punching someone, but it also improved the toughness of their skin. Finally the last thing he had them doing was, using weighted versions of their weapons against practice dummies. This in conjunction with the resistance seals proved to be quite a challenge. Eventually when Chang said that they were done for the day, the trio collapsed onto the ground.

"Forget what I said about this being fun…" Coughing for a moment Leon continued. "I rather face that demon girl a hundred times than fight Shifu Wong." From their own training dummies Aki and Natsu groaned in agreement. At their conversation Chang laughed full heartedly. He remembered his first time training with the monks, and though it wasn't nearly this bad thanks to his previous training. It was still rather rough and he to complained a bit, although his complaints were quickly beat out of him.

Still clapping his hands he spoke up. "Okay I think all of you are at your physical limit for now. However know that I will be making each session together slightly harder than the last, so this is only the tip of the ice berg as they say." The trio groaned even more at the thought of things being even harder than it was today. "Also I'll have Dom put on gravity seals next session. This will definitely improve your strength and speed in conjunction with your resistance seals. Really I wished I had them when I was training."

Though he sounded happy Natsu started crying tears out of fear. Aki sat up and turned to her master before hissing at him in anger. While Leon… well he just sighed and thought about taking things easy tomorrow.

 _After all I need some time to fix my broken muscles… wait broken, time, fix?_ Sitting up quickly he scrambled to his feet before running back to the house, laughing like a madman all the way. At his actions the other three could only watch him leave in both confusion and concern.

Eventually Aki spoke up. "I think you broke Cutler Kun Nya…"

"Huh…" Was the only response Chang gave to his black haired student. As for Natsu she frowned a bit before standing up. Inside the house Leon was still running until he reached the workshop. Opening up the door he looked down upon his unfinished magic circle. Quickly moving over to it, Leon picked up the chalk he left next to it and proceeded to finish the circle. When finished he now had a triangle inside of the square, and more runes surrounding each edge.

That's when he finally calmed down. _Okay… I hope this works, if not I might accidentally create a black hole._ Shaking his head from those thoughts he brought magic up to his finger tips. Eventually they all glowed vibrant violet, and he slammed them down on the circle. There was a puff of smoke and when it dispersed he smiled gleefully. The spook that was once broken, was now fixed up as if they had just bought it. Grabbing it he looked over the spoon carefully, there wasn't a single nick, or chip in the eating utensil.

"Alright! My first step to on the road to surpassing Nickolas Flammel is complete!" So busy was his celebration he didn't notice someone come into the workshop until they spoke up.

"So that's what you were excited about Mya." Upon hearing Natsu's voice Leon turned around still smiling. He then walked over to her before handing Natsu the spoon. Upon receiving it she looked it over thoroughly before talking again. "It really is like a perfectly new spook Leon Kun. I'm happy that you've finally figure this out Mya."

Chuckling Leon stretched out his back before replying. "Yeah… but I still have a ways to go before I surpass Flammel, but I have to say if it weren't for the training. It probably would've taken me a lot longer to figure it out." Natsu shook her head vehemently at his words and leaned in close before retorting.

"That's not true! You're a true genius Mya! I'm one hundred percent sure that you'd figure it out in no time. You just got a small boost today that's all Mya!" Leon looked at Natsu in surprise at her outburst for a few moments. After all it really wasn't like her to yell about anything, plus their faces were quite closed together. But if he had to admit it… Leon actually liked the look of surety on the white haired Nekoshou's face.

Eventually he smiled before hugging her making her eep in surprise. "Thanks Natsu… I'm glad to have your hundred and ten percent support." At his words Natsu relaxed before hugging her hero back. Eventually they parted and Leon looked behind her before turning back to Natsu. "So… where's Aki? I'm pretty sure she feels the same way but I don't see her."

Laughing nervously she began her explanation. "Well… she's accusing Shifu Wong about breaking you. After all you did run into the house laughing like a crazy person. I decided to follow you just to make sure you're alright." Leon grimaced heavily at Natsu's words and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry about that… I guess I got a bit too excited there. Well let's go back and explain thing then, after all we don't want Shifu Wong to get blamed for something untrue right? Besides I want to show Aki my success as well." Giggling for a bit Natsu began to turn around but stopped. She then looked resolutely at Leon. "Is there something that you need from me Natsu?" Taking a deep breath she stood up on her toes and kissed his cheek. At her actions both became red as Natsu ran out the door yelling.

"We should probably make our way back to them, if we want to clear up the misunderstanding Mya!" Shaking his head out of his shock Leon smiled while touching his right cheek.

 _While I wonder why she did that… it did feel quite nice, I think I'll enjoy this memory for a while._ With those thoughts he ran after the white neko.

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

 _I actually kissed him first! Nee Chan's going to be so jealous Mya!_ Those were the thoughts going through Natsu's head, as she ran back to her sister and master. Right behind her was her crush and hero. Now while it was true that they did decide to share him, like they shared most things. Natsu was happy to have little moments like before, moments where she had him all to herself.

Arriving once more in the backyard Natsu slowed down at the sight before her. Aki was pacing back and forth in worry while Chang seemed a bit apprehensive. Shaking her head as Leon came up on her left she yelled out at them.

"Hey! Everything's alright Mya, Leon Kun just figured out something with his alchemy circle!" At her exclamation Aki turned to them and ran up to the duo grinning.

She stopped right in front of Leon. "Wow! You actually figured out what was wrong Nya? That's amazing Cutler Kun!" She then kissed his left cheek before hugging him. "You really are a genius in magic Nya!" When she was finished she turned to Natsu with a small smirk. In return the younger twin smirked back causing Aki to narrow her eyes on her.

 _I wonder when she'll figure out that I kissed him first Mya? We may have agreed to share Mya, but that doesn't mean we're not competing for Leon Kun's affections._ However before Aki could comprehend why Natsu was smirking as well, Chang came up behind them.

"So you finished your first alchemical circle, what did you do exactly?" Smiling up at the monk Leon turned to Natsu. Realizing that she still had the spoon she handed it out to Chang. Taking it from her the monk examined it. "So I assume this was broken before?" Leon nodded his head proudly. "Well then I must say that you did a remarkable job, there are no cracks, nicks, or chips. Not to mention it appears polished as actual silver despite being steel. Fine work young man I hope you keep up your current work ethic."

Taking the spoon back Leon spoke with conviction. "Don't worry about that Shifu Wong; I plan on surpassing the greatest mages and alchemists of all time! Plus… I now have another person I want to surpass." Leon then pointed at Chang before continuing. "I want to surpass you in martial might! And I promise I won't back down until I do it!" Leon's declaration caused the monk to laugh upsetting the magician. "Hey… what's so funny?" Stopping in his laughter Chang shook his head before smiling down at him.

But as Chang placed his right hand upon Leon's head he replied happily. "Do not worry; I don't laugh at your conviction. I'm laughing because I said those same words to the grandmaster after my first lesson with him. That was many years ago and I have yet to fulfill my promise. Still I hope that you can keep true to your words, it will be interesting to see that is for sure."

Taking his words to heart Leon pounded his chest. "Don't worry by the time you have to go back to the temple I will have surpassed you. And it won't be just me; I speak for Aki and Natsu as well. Because I know that they can do it as well." At his words the twins looked at him in surprise before smiling and hugging him tightly.

"Thanks for believe in us Nya." At her older sister's words Natsu nodded her head with a smile. Both then kissed his cheeks, however the trio froze when they heard a familiar noise. A clicking sound followed by a whining noise. Turning around they saw Mary holding onto a camera with a smile on her face.

"That one's going into the album for sure!~ Really you three are just so cute sometimes!~" Quickly the kids turned red as she continued. "Anyways I've come to tell you that it's almost dinner time. So why don't you three get cleaned up and come have some supper. Then we can have some quiet study time or something. Just don't take a bath together okay!~" Giggling she ran off as Leon ran after her shouting all the way.

"Mom! Don't say things like that!" Laughing Chang quickly followed the mother and son. Knowing now why, the three kids seemed to act the way they did around each other. This left Aki and Natsu alone watching with small smiles, at least until Aki spoke to Natsu in an accusing tone.

"You kissed him in the workshop earlier didn't you Nya?" Though under normal circumstances, her question probably would've made Natsu nervous. This time Natsu seemed to have grown a back bone.

So with a happy tone she answered her sister. "I did indeed, although it was just on the cheek like we both did right now Mya." Aki nodded her head while sighing.

"Dang… I guess you got that first then, but I'll take his first real kiss when we're older!" Natsu giggled before starting to make her way inside the house. At the same time she gave her own response.

"Sorry Nee Chan… but I'll take that one as well Mya!"

Aki scoffed while following after her. "Sorry but as the oldest I call dibs Nya."

"Sorry but I think it should go to the youngest this time around. In fact I'm calling dibs on his first date as well." The conversation then proceeded to go back and forth as they came into the house. Although it was all in good fun, truth was that both had agreed not to be too jealous of the other. After all it was completely up to Leon when they were older.

After dinner the kids all went to go take either baths in the twin's case, or a shower in Leon's. This left the adults to sit down at the table and talk about the day, and the progress the trio made. So sipping on some tea Chang decided it was time for his progress report.

"So I can tell you two are curious about the current abilities of the children. Now while it's the first day, I can honestly say that they've done well. Out of all of them Aki has the greatest speed and strength. Leon has the most skill, and Natsu is like a mix of both though lacks confidence in her attacks. But with their dedication and hard work they should grow stronger quickly. I have to say though… the three of them really do care for one another, and I know they'll be able to support each other through anything."

Dom nodded his head in agreement. "True… even though they've only known Leon for two weeks, they've bonded quite well. And I don't believe it's just because Leon saved them. I think his general caring of them has helped in that regard, the boy is a lady killer and doesn't even know it." When he finished Dom couldn't help but sigh. "I have a feeling he's going to find others as well. But enough about that, did he use his sacred gear during training?" At the question Chang shook his head before replying.

"No he didn't, and I have a feeling he won't use it anytime soon. I don't know why though, it's just a feeling I have." Mary couldn't help but giggle at this and both men turned to her. Seeing the looks of confusion on their faces she spoke with a smirk.

"Sorry but I guess he didn't tell you two. You see he told me he would only use the sacred gear if he absolutely needs to. Basically it's his trump card. However before even training with it, he wants to connect with the spirit in it. He knows it has one, and he's wants it to know that the twice critical isn't just a weapon to him. Whether or not he'll succeed is still up in the air though."

Both men hummed in thought before Chang got an idea. "Well… I guess I can always put in some meditation time during training. In fact I might as well do that, after all I know the twins will need it for their senjutsu. As a monk I myself can use it, but only to enhance my body for a short period of time. I also think the three of them would appreciate the break during regular training. I really did run them ragged today, but they held up with little complaint." When he finished Mary clapped her hands before speaking.

Although she sounded quite excited. "Alright then it's settled!~ Ooh… this is going to be so exciting! Finally something to do instead of just being inside the house all day! I think I might as well find some more magic to teach them. Leon did say he finished his first alchemy circle after all!~" She then got up quickly and walked out of the room giggling. "I need to think of more things to teach the twins as well. Shikigami is good and all but I think other things will be helpful. This is going to be so much fun!~"

When she was out of ear sight both men sighed before Chang spoke up. "I see that she hasn't changed much in these last six years." Dom couldn't help but snort in agreement before speaking softly.

"Yeah tell me about it? But you know something? Despite complaining about it, I wouldn't have it any other way and that's the truth." Smiling at his words Chang got up and patted his left shoulder.

"She's lucky to have someone like you. Now then I'm off to go get cleaned up, because while it wasn't too bad I also worked up a sweat today." With those words he left leaving Dom alone. However looking back at the table made his left eye start twitching, it was still covered in food and dirty dishes. But as he looked towards the sink his twitch only became worse as he saw it full already.

 _Of course… why would anyone else like to help me clean things up?_

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 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

With a yawn the man in white closed the book. "Well that's it for this chapter, interesting wouldn't you say?" Stretching out his back the one in black replied tiredly.

"Yeah it was interesting, but the kiddies still have a very long way to go before they're ready to face the world. However I have to say it… the white haired neko, Natsu is actually rather adorable." For a moment after he said that things were quiet until his companion spoke.

"Funny… I didn't take you as some kind of cradle robber." The man in white regretted saying that as his "friend" flicked his wrist at him. Ducking down quickly, he looked up to see the upper part of his chair obliterated by some unknown force. "It was just a jest friend; I didn't mean anything by it. Truly I'm just surprised; I would've thought you'd like Aki more. Seeing how you both wear black and she's a lot tougher than the younger twin."

Taking a deep breath the man in black replied. "I like Natsu better because despite being the shyer one, as well as the less confident one. She still took initiative over her sister, that means at least she has courage. Plus tell me… when have the quiet ones, actually been the quiet ones when angered?" The man in white couldn't respond to that, and the other crossed his arms and spoke with a pleased tone. "That's what I thought. Anyways what happens now? They're training and getting stronger but what's next?"

Shaking his head the man in white replied quickly to his counterpart. "Sorry but as you know I can't divulge any information about what's to come. All I can say is that their trials have just begun, and like all heroes they'll have a part to play in the world at large before too long." Giving out a small laugh the other spoke up at that.

"Like all heroes? I see what's happening now, and I bet some other watchers do as well. But we'll wait and see, if what you suggest is what I think it is… well I can only hope for an eventually happy resolution."

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 _ **Line Break**_

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 **Magic Notes…**

 **Shikigami: Created in Asia, this ancient art of magic allows one to create constructs out of paper. Much like golems are made out of clay or other materials. However unlike golems Shikigami can be programmed to have emotions and thoughts. There have even been cases of a shikigami eating and even having children. Truly it depends on the abilities of the creator.**

 **Resistance Seals: A simple training rune applied in either ink or other mediums. By channeling magic into them they increase the resistance the user feels on themselves. Like said the user and can feel as if he's running in water or even go as far as to run in thick syrup. Of course over time like all runes it can start fading away.**

 **Gravity Seals: An advanced training rune applied by or ink or other mediums. This increases the gravitational pull on the user, making it seems as if they're two, three, four, or more heavier. However like all runes after a while of use it will fade away.**

* * *

 **Judan: And another chapter done.**

 **Slayer: Finally now we can move onto the void emperor. Should be interesting to see where you're going with that.**

 **Judan: Ah yes… well I have quite a few ideas planned for that one. But things are coming to a head in that story.**

 **Shadow: In what way?**

 **Judan: Sorry but I can't tell you too much.**

 **Chang: I think that's a good thing else, there might be too many spoilers.**

 **Slayer: Oh yeah almost forgot, if we messed anything up with the shaolin monks we apologize profusely. It is either out of ignorance or false information, not out of any intent to insult and or ridicule them. We have nothing but respect for them and what they do.**

 **Shadow: Wow… first time we had to put something like that in our stories. But a good thing to put in anyways.**

 **Judan: Yeah… although I should've said it instead, seeing how I'm the one who did the research.**

 **Slayer: Should've left it up to me, I've always been better at it.**

 **Judan: Shut up.**

 **Chang: Well seeing how we've done what we set out to do today. Perhaps we can move on and finish this?**

 **Shadow: Great idea! As the newbie you can end it this time.**

 **Chang: Alright, now this has been a Dark Guard production signing off!**

 **Everyone: Goodbye!**

 **Judan: Just putting it out there… this is the longest chapter so far for this story! Hooray!**

 **Shadow: Oh yeah it is…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Judan: Oh yeah back to this story!**

 **Slayer: How many stories on the account are actually yours anyways?**

 **Judan: I think about three…maybe four, I'm unsure seeing how we're so similar in our writing styles. Plus most of them are pretty much co-ops…**

 **Shadow: Well I think that doesn't matter to much, also seeing how we don't have any questions today I think we can get right into the story.**

 **Slayer: Hold up! We still have to put in the automated message.**

 **Judan/Shadow: Automated?**

 **Gracia: He means he's just going to copy and paste what he wrote down in the other story.**

 **Judan/Shadow: Oh…**

 **Slayer: Yes thank you new character now for the message…** **as said in the last two updated stories** **we'll both be leaving to do different things on the twenty eighth of this month. I'll be gone for two years at least in Pensylvania. While Judan will be in the navy for about the same time. Probably a bit more actually. After words we'll both be going to college. Reasons are our own of course, but this is a heads up for extremely rare updates for the next two years. Sorry for the disappointment…**

 **Gracia: Aww… this means I won't get as much screen time.**

 **Shadow: I know what you mean I was looking forward to having some screen time in my story.**

 **Judan: It's not to bad… because we've been writing for years now, so a small break will be good. Also don't worry we promise to never abandon a story. So just be patient all you readers.**

 **Gracia: Don't you mean watchers?**

 **Judan: Same difference, now as the newbie can you end this?**

 **Gracia: Sure! Now then we here at the Dark Guard productions own nothing but OC's and reality building concepts. Everything else belongs to their respective owners. Now without further ado…**

 **Everyone: Here's the story!**

* * *

Hello= Regular talk

 **(Hello)= Sacred Gears**

' _Hello'_ _Telepathy_

 _Hello= Thoughts/talking to inner spirits_

(J/N)= Judan Notes

(S/N)= Slayer notes

* * *

Chapter Four: And time marches On.

With a small breath the man in black turned to his companion. "You want me to read this time?" His companion nodded his head curtly. "Is there any specific reason for this… because you have a much better voice for this." At his compliment the one in white chuckled for a moment before giving his reply.

"I thank you, but I do believe our writers want us to switch off every three chapters. So please go ahead and read, do what you wish and find what you want to read next." For a moment the man in black looked at him suspiciously before sighing. This suggested to the other that he had won.

"Alright I'll continue for the next three chapters. So let's see… what does this one say. Huh… and time marches on eh? Interesting chapter, wait what do the last chapters say for their titles… what the. Chapter one and two are quite weird." At his statement the one in white only shrugged. "Okay… let's see here, it would seem as if this chapter is a few months after the last one. Not too much but still."

Chuckling the man in white eventually spoke up. "Indeed, and let me tell you this will be a rather unexpected chapter. So please do continue to read." Another long look at his counterpart before the one in black looked back down at the book.

"Fine then let's see here… okay here's the beginning. I hope everyone at homes comfortable because without any more delays here we go!~"

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 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

Humming happily as she whisked some kind of batter was Mary. On her face was a bright smile as she danced about the kitchen. Today was a special day for not only her but for her own son as well.

 _Not to mention for everyone else as well, I wonder what the twins will do today? They seemed to be plotting something for a while now. Although I'm willing to bet that Leon forgot what today is, just like last year… and the year before that… and the one before that… Just what am I going to do with him?_ Despite such a line of thought, Mary couldn't help but giggle before setting down the large bowl she was using. Then with speed she moved over to the little cubby under the oven.

With a few seconds of shifting things around, Mary picked out a dark ten by ten square pan. After that she picked out a dark eight by eight inch circular pan. After putting them next to the giant bowl she filled them both up with the dark brown batter. As Mary continued her baking Aki and Natsu sat in the library, both were on the second floor and whispering to one another. But only because Leon was reading something down on the first floor.

"It would seem as if Mary San was right Nya… Cutler Kun really did forget about today. This gives us the perfect opportunity to enact our plan." Though Aki seemed a little giddy Natsu was a little bit more apprehensive of things.

"I guess Mya… but why do you think Leon Kun forgot? He doesn't seem to forget anything, so why today Mya?" While Aki was just as curious about that as her sister, she didn't find that quite as important. After all if his mother said it was a usual occurrence, then it couldn't mean anything bad. With that thought in mind, the older twin thought about everything they've learned about their hero in the last three months. It was quite imperative for their plan to actually work.

Eventually she came to an idea. "Hey Natsu Chan.~ I think I know what we should do today Nya!~" At the gleam in her older sister's eye Natsu gulped a bit in worry. Down below them, unaware of the multiple plots going on around him. Leon continued to read his book; it was actually the power of magic book. The book he had already read it in its entirety, but he still found the book fascinating.

The book was essentially a huge inspiration for him, so he read it whenever he could. In fact he was just about done with it. Though he already had another book lined up, but he was going to take this one into the workshop. The book was about some more advanced alchemy circles. He was planning on reading them and then applying them to some of the circles he's already made.

However his plans would be quickly disrupted by two voices. ""Leon/Cutler Kun!~"" Blinking he found himself being hugged on both sides. To his left he saw Aki, on his right was Natsu. Knowing that they probably wanted something he only smiled before speaking.

"Yes? Do you want me to scratch your ears again?" It was a common thing the twins had done in the past, though this time he was surprised when they shook their heads.

But before he could ask what they wanted Aki spoke up. "We just thought since it was such a lovely day, that we should spend it together outside Nya." He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that, especially since it was a Thursday and he wanted to work on magic.

But he caved when he turned to Natsu. "Please Leon Kun… we barely do anything fun that doesn't involve magic Mya." Aki knew Leon would cave to Natsu's sad face, because while she was a bit disappointed that she herself couldn't pull it off. Aki had to admit that she was the brasher of the two, and people found that out about her pretty quickly. Natsu on the other hand was naturally shy and that made it easy for her to pull off.

 _Well not exactly pull off… for that to happen Natsu would have to purposely make that face Nya._ Let it be known that Natsu's sad kitten face was completely natural and was never forced.

Which was why it always worked on Leon. "Alright… if that's what you two want, then that's what we'll do. Speaking of what we'll be doing… what is it that we're doing outside?" Aki could only smile at that before turning to Natsu and nodding her head. Taking that as her cue Natsu answered Leon.

"Well we thought that we could go and just wander around, just to see what caught our interest Mya. But we do want to go to the city library Mya, who knows maybe we'll fine an interesting movie or book there?" Leon gave out a small hum while nodding his head. Taking that as their cue both girls quickly dragged the poor boy out of the library. Though he didn't mind, and only laughed good-naturedly at their excitement. Truthfully he was finding himself being happy, whenever they were happy.

Mean while the two adult males were also doing something for the day's festivities. Of course the father of the two was rather conflicted as he looked at two different magic books.

"I don't know Chang… even if the amount of explosions he's made have been cut down to just two per week. Maybe it's a bit too soon for Cutler to be learning offensive magic."

Chang shook his head before retorting. "While I can understand your hesitation, I do believe your son is quite ready. Thanks to his own ingenuity, work ethic, talent, and just plain determination. He's already gone beyond most other beginners his age. Isn't that why you decided on teaching so young?" Dom could only sigh before finally nodding his head in agreement.

"Alright then… but on that note… are you sure what you're planning to isn't a bit too soon?" As he expected Chang shook his head before verbally answering.

"Of course not, he's improved in leaps and bounds in his martial might. He deserves the next step, in fact so do Aki and Natsu. But they'll have to wait just a bit longer. There is a tradition to this after all." Dom would've spoken up at that point, saying something about Leon wanting to make it fair. But they heard the kids run into the living room. Before they could question them however Aki winked at them before speaking.

"Hey we're going to go out for a few hours Nya, is that alright?" Very quickly Dom deduced what they were actually doing and gave his best smile.

"Sure just don't run into anymore demons alright?" Both twins shuddered a bit at that thought making Leon upset.

"Dad don't scare them like that!" Dom could only gulp a bit at the aura his son was producing. He was definitely his mother in the form of a little boy. So naturally he nodded his head making Leon smile again. "Alright well I'll see you both later, dad, Shifu Wong." Along with that last name came a bow from all three of the children. However it didn't last long and the trio quickly ran to leave the house.

Hearing the door open and shut allowed Dom to finally breathe easily. "Whew… that kid is starting to really act like his mother, not only that but he seems to get more protective of those girls by the day." This only made Chang chuckle before giving his thoughts on the matter.

"I personally think he's just growing up. And as he gets older the more he discovers his true feeling for them. It's only natural that he become more protective of them, after all aren't you protective of your own wife?"

At that question Dom chuckled a bit before answering. "I guess I am… in fact I think besides his looks, that's the only other thing he got from me. My need to protect the ones I love. Okay now back to-" Of course he was cut off as the doorbell rang and his wife called to him from the kitchen.

"I think that's Gracia! Can you be a dear and get the door Dom? My hands are kind of full at the moment." With a sigh Dom turned back to Chang while getting up.

"Please hold that thought." Chang only chuckled while waving him off. Once he made it to the front door Dom opened it only to smile when he saw that it was indeed Gracia. Also known as his sister in law… or Mary's older sister, even though she looked quite a bit younger. Though that had something to do with a magical accident when they were kids, but that's a tale for another time.

Now Gracia Siren Goth had the same hazel eyes as her sister. But her hair was an even lighter shade of brown, and it went over her eyes just a bit. She also had her hair done up in a bun in the back, but let two long strands fall down to her chest on both sides of her face. Also right behind those strands were dark blue ribbons that were tied up into bows. She also had a dark blue cloth chocker around her neck that was edged in red.

Her dress was also rather modest yet form fitting around her chest. It was mainly black in color but the front part over her chest was white. Though the lining around it was red, it also showed only revealed the top of her chest. It was also short sleeved though they were slightly poofy and were frilly at their ends. The dress also flowed outwards at her slim waist, and stopped halfway down her calves. Finally she had on red tights with black high heeled boots that stopped at the dresses edge.

Altogether though she looked like a younger version of her sister, only with brighter hair and dark blue eyes. Something of which shocked Dom the first time he met her, especially when they told him Gracia was the older sibling.

However unlike her sister when she spoke it was more formal. "It's good to see you again Dominique, it's been too long since we've gotten together." Dom couldn't help but smile and give his sister in law a small hug before pulling back and greeting her as well.

"You're right as usual but it's wonderful to see you right now as well. Please let me escort you to the kitchen, Mary's hard at work getting things ready. But I'm sure she'll enjoy your company." Gracia gave him a beaming smile before nodding her head. Taking that as his cue he led her to the kitchen, although she already knew where it was. It was truly the thought and purpose that counted. Of course as soon as Mary heard footsteps in the kitchen she turned around.

The moment she saw her sister Mary pounced on her. "Gracia! It's so good to see you again sis!" Gracia would've said it was a pleasure as well, but her face was currently stuffed into Mary's chest. Of course Mary didn't notice her accidental suffocating of her sister, and only danced around a bit. The scene made Dom question the different aspects of his wife… like it usually did.

 _How can she be a genius mage, a wonderful and kind mother, a stern lecturer, a scary and violent person, and also a ditz all at the same time?! I just can't comprehend her even after all these years!_ Of course poor Dominique would probably continue to feel this way about his wife, for as long as he lived. Thankfully for Gracia's continual life span Mary let go before pulling out her camera.

"Oh you just have to look at these photos I've taken of Leon and the twins!~ I'm sure you'll agree that they're quite adorable." Knowing that her sister wouldn't take no for an answer, despite having already been sent the pictures beforehand. Gracia decided it would be best to just let her younger show her the photos. Not that she minded she too thought that they were adorable, especially the one where they fell asleep together on the couch.

That was definitely her favorite. Just the way Leon leaned back into couch, with the twins resting their heads on his shoulders was just adorable to her. It also showed her how much the trio cared for each other. But it was not to last because Gracia spoke to her seriously, because while it was fun. She truly needed to ask Mary something.

"So just in case you were wondering I have what I promised, but are you sure he's ready?"

Becoming serious Mary looked into her sister's eye. "Of course I am sure. He's been ready for quite some time, besides I'm sure he and the girls will have fun picking out just the right one. I also got promised help while we're there so I'm sure we'll be safe." Of course Gracia still looked at her skeptically but in the end nodded her head. She was indeed willing to trust her sister on this.

"Well I hope we'll have fun, but seriously the timing of today… it's just kind of funny. You know with the moon and all that, but I guess Leon has always had a way with fate." Mary couldn't help but chuckle at her sister's words.

 _Oh if only you knew Gracia… if only you knew…_

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

The first place the children went to of course was a candy store, but only on the insistence of Aki. However having planned everything out in advance she knew what to do. So once inside, she grabbed Leon's arm and dragged him a wall that her favorite kind of candy on it. As for Natsu she quickly went and got Leon's favorite cheap sweet as he called them.

It also happened to be one of the few candies he actually liked. Basically beyond chocolate, cake, pie, and certain ice-creams Leon disliked most other kinds of sweets. However they had learned that he loved a certain medium chew candy. So after picking out sixty that she knew were his favorite kind, Natsu very quickly brought her bag the counter.

"Can I get these please? Also can you put it in whatever bag you'll use, for the ones my sister and friend back there will use? It's kind of a surprise and we don't want him to find out about it quite yet." The man hummed to himself, he was a middle aged man with brown hair. He was also wearing a red apron over a white button up shirt and black slacks. Around his waist was a black belt and he was also wearing brown dress shoes. He had seen these kids before and was familiar with Leon.

However the request of the shy girl was odd. But seeing no harm in it after looking back at the other girl distracting the boy, he nodded his head before quickly counting and giving out his price.

"That'll be about five dollars miss." After giving him a bright smile, Natsu quickly fished out the money she and Aki brought with them to use. It was just seventeen dollars in total, but she was fine with that and got out a five. Handing it to the store owner he quickly looked it over before putting the candy in back in the bag. But he kept it and waited for the other two to come up.

After looking back Aki saw that Natsu was done, so very quickly got three large kitkats. "I think these will do just nicely Ny… cough…" As she tried to hide her verbal tick with a cough Leon chuckled a bit. This earned him a small glare while they walked back up to the counter.

"I'll take these sir." The owner once again nodded his head, before putting them into the already used bag. In the end Leon forked over three dollars and left. But not before looking at the bag strangely. "Is there already something in the bag?" Very quickly Natsu answered him.

"Yeah I just got some tootsie rolls that's all, you know for me and Aki." Leon looked at her for a moment before sighing.

"You know that I would've paid for them, even if I don't like them too much." Natsu just nodded her head before taking the bag. "Here let me carry that."

Very quickly Natsu pulled the bag from his reach. "Sorry but since I got the most I think that I'll be holding onto it." Leon only looked at her in confusion, while Aki crossed her fingers and Natsu felt sweat go down her neck. The store owner however was trying hard not to laugh at the scene going on. Eventually Leon caved though unable to find it in himself to argue with the younger twin.

"Fine if you want to carry it that badly then go ahead." Behind him Aki let out a breath of relief while Natsu gave him a beaming smile.

"Thanks Leon, I'm glad you saw it my way." With that she kissed his right cheek before walking away to leave the store. For a few moments Leon stood there while the store owner rolled his eyes.

 _They have him wrapped around their fingers…_ Eventually Aki was able to pull him out of the store, where she mentally checked off the sweets on her to do list. Their next stop would be the arts and crafts store. This time it would be Natsu distracting him as Aki quickly looked around.

"Okay Nya… where's the good chalk…" After a good bit of searching she eventually found some good white artist chalk and charcoal. After putting them in the almost too big hand basket, Aki left to find the thing which Natsu asked her to get. It was also for Leon but since Natsu was distracting said person it was up to Aki. "Okay what's a good notebook Nya? What would Cutler Kun really like?"

Eventually she found one that was perfect, and despite seeing how it would cost all the money they had left. Aki knew it was a good fit, so very quickly she ran over to the counter and bought them. Now… for most sensible people out there leaving kid's alone like this would be irresponsible. Especially a bunch of "six" year olds, but these weren't your average six year olds. Still the cashier, a dark haired woman was still a little concerned.

"Where's your parent's sweetie? Are they here with you today?" At her line of questioning Aki winced. The woman noticed and frowned heavily in reaction. "Just stay here a bit… I'll call-" She didn't finish as Aki did something she wasn't too proud of, Aki used what little she knew of illusion and mind youjutsu to make it seem as if she was an adult. Also Aki made sure to remove all trace of her from the ladies mind.

 _I'm so sorry about this Nya, but I can't be interrupted right now. I'm on a mission!_ With that thought in mind, Aki barely was able to pay for everything when Leon showed up with Natsu. Almost immediately did Leon see the bag Aki was holding.

"You know… I keep saying that I will buy everything for you girls. That's what Dad always says I should do for you at least." After a small chuckle Aki just shook her head.

"I know but that is quite unnecessary Nya, besides you bought us some kitkats already. Plus you're getting the paper we need for shikigami so I believe that's good enough Nya." At her use of Aki's verbal tick, as well as the word shikigami Leon became suspicious. Quickly he looked at the cashier lady and saw that she was in a trance.

Sighing he knew he had to get Aki to stop. "Aki… why did you hypnotize this poor lady?" Aki pursed her lips even as Natsu looked at her in disappointment.

"Sorry… but she asked me about my parents Nya. Then because I didn't answer she was going to call someone, so I had to do something Nya!" Sighing Leon decided to just let her actions go for now. After all things were already going to look suspicious on the security cameras. So after paying for the different types of paper and ink he was carrying, they left the store.

He was thankful that no security guards came after them. Still with that little escapade, and Aki insisting that she carry her own bag… Leon was starting to get rather suspicious. _Just what are they trying to hide from me?_ It was a fair question to ask, but the twins really didn't want him asking about such things. At least not yet as they approached the library, entering it quickly made him forget about his suspicions. For if it there was one thing magician's liked… it was books.

This time however they didn't exactly try to distract Leon. No… he instead distracted himself by running over to the science section. Pretty soon he had an entire pile of biology books, zoology books, anatomy books, and even books on chemistry. The twins could only shake their heads at him, while they went off to find some other books and movies he'd like.

"How about the sword and the stone Nee Chan? After all it does have some magic in it, although I don't think Merlin was quite like that Mya." Turning to her younger sister, Aki just shrugged before continuing to look through the kid's movies herself. It was actually hard to find a movie that both of them, along with Leon would actually like. Especially since Leon was to mature for his own good. Well most of the time at least, wasn't like his steps into science helped with that.

But it wasn't if they had much room to talk either, already their experiences have matured them faster as well. Plus they were Yokai… so it wasn't as if movies with super powered, or "mythical" beings really appealed to them that much.

Thankfully they were able to get a nice little pile of five movies. Thinking that was enough they searched for Leon, who actually wasn't that hard to find. All they had to do was find the person behind the five different book stacks. Though they've seen this a number of times the scene still made them sigh a bit. Not so much that he was reading that number of books, but because he had no discretion about it. Every time someone would pass him by they would stop to stare a bit.

I mean wouldn't you? The kid was reading books the size of his head, some of them way to advance for anyone his age. I would also like to point out that Leon didn't quite understand everything he was reading either. So next to him was a dictionary for him to use. Though that could only fix part of the issue, fact was that despite his magician heritage. He was simply too young to understand everything he was reading. But as they say A for effort right?

"Cutler Kun, we're done here. Do you want to take all those back N-now?" Putting down his book on the structure of protons he turned to the twins. He saw them holding a small bag of what could only be movies. Leon was curious about that, but figured that they'd probably want to watch them with him. That was fine with him, but as to Aki's question he turned back to the books.

Seeing the pile he created Leon laughed a little sheepishly. "Hehe… It would seem as if I went a bit overboard again. Just give me a minute to put back the ones I don't care for." Both girls nodded their heads and waited, thankfully it didn't take too long and soon he only had ten books. Instead of forty like he originally had.

After getting them checked out the trio left the library and headed home. Unfortunately they didn't have an uneventful walk home; no instead they ran into some trouble.

"Well, well… if it isn't the crazy bee kid, and the two eye weirdo's!" All three of them groaned before turning to a group of four kids. They were a year older than then the trio and were the neighborhood bullies. Their leader Henry Harlow was a boy with lightly tanned skin, messy blonde hair, and was the tallest out of his group. He wore blue jeans, white sneakers, and a orange t-shirt that had the words, "Hit Hard" in bold letters on the front. This also wasn't the first time they've run into one another.

The first time was when Leon was messing about with the killer bees. Hence the crazy bee kid remark, which Leon had to note, was a fair thing to call him. However it had gotten worse when he started picking on Aki and Natsu. Mostly for their dual colored eyes and Natsu's hair color, something which Leon did not appreciate. Because personally he found them really pretty colors.

This had led to a couple of arguments and a single fight. Truthfully the mage really didn't want to deal with them at the moment. Especially since they had already trounced them in the fight, though calling it a fight might be a bit of a misconception. A one sided slaughter was more like it. Still if Henry and his gang were here trying to rile them up, then it means that he had gotten over the beating.

So after turning back to the bully Leon decided to get it over with. "What do you want now Henry? Can't you just find someone else to try and bully because this is getting old. I mean seriously! WE beat you into the ground last time!" Unconsciously some of Henry's goons rubbed invisible sore spots. Henry however only sneered before pointing his right index finger at Leon. This made the magician blink as Henry yelled at him.

"That was a fluke! Plus we've been taking martial arts classes ourselves now! So this time we'll beat you into the ground! And we'll make the two freaks who hang out with you watch!" At his over dramatics Leon clapped his hands confusing Henry and his group. "What are you clapping about?"

Leon happily answered making the twins sigh. "Oh sorry it's just… if you ever got out of this bullying business, you could probably be a good actor. Maybe you should consider a career change? It'd probably be good for you." Henry's face turned blank at Leon's response before he nodded to his group.

"Get him." So with a yell the group charged Leon with a yell, the magician however only sighed.

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

"You know I wonder if they'll ever get tired of this." The twins only shrugged as they kept walking, but finding that unsatisfactory Leon turned around and yelled. "You really should consider acting! I think it'll suit you much better!" His only answer was a groan of pain, behind him the bullies were on the ground. Though nothing was broken, and there was no blood spilled during the fight (if you could call it that…) Leon had still beaten them up a bit and most were quite unresponsive.

As the trio disappeared Henry got to his knees and slammed his fist on the ground. Only for him to wince and hold his now hurt hand; there were some tears in his eyes, but he still glared at Leon's retreating form.

"That guy… he acts so cool and always so smart! I'll get him back one day… I'll get him and his little friends too! He should know never to cross Henry Harlow!" Unbeknownst to the young bully, he was being watched. Though he wasn't approached, it would seem as if things were going to get interesting in the little town. But back with our trio already things were getting interesting, at least for Leon as he entered the house.

"Hey we're back! Mom? Dad? Shifu? Huh… where is everyone." Confused he turned to Aki and Natsu. "Do you know… and now they're gone." Indeed the two Nekoshou were now missing, in response to this Leon scratched the back of his head. "Well that's just great; first they were acting strange all day. Now they along with everyone else has disappeared. Hope they weren't possessed or something." With that thought in mind he proceeded to explore the house cautiously. It was dark in the house, but he didn't dare risk turning the lights on himself.

But when he walked into the living room the lights turned on. """SURPRISE!""" And indeed he was surprised to see everyone holding onto balloons, or other party decorations. In fact the entire room was covered in decorations that said happy seventh birthday. It was then that Leon finally remembered what day it was.

"April sixteen year two thousand one… a Thursday…" At that point he couldn't help but palm his face. "I forgot my birthday again! Why do I keep doing that?!" Everyone around him only laughed at his antics making him sigh. "Yes I'm glad that you find it all amusing…" The first to stop laughing was Gracia who still sounded amused as she spoke.

"Oh don't be like that Leon. In fact it actually helped us get this all ready." Turning to his aunt Leon smiled brightly before running up to and hugging her tightly.

"It's awesome to see you again aunt Gracia!" In response Gracia hugged the young boy back, as for Aki and Natsu they couldn't help but stare at her a bit. Sure they were introduced to Gracia before surprising Leon, but that was in the dark. Now in the light they could see how young and beautiful she looked. It was indeed a shock, but eventually they decided that it didn't really matter too much and ran up behind Leon.

Upon hearing them behind him, Leon let go of his aunt and turned around only to be hugged by both girls. However he blushed heavily when they kissed his cheeks.

""Happy Birthday Leon/Cutler Kun!~" There was then a clicking sound followed by a flash of light. All three of them turned to the source only to see Mary holding onto her camera.

"Well that's going into the album!~" In response the trio only sighed having gotten used to seeing such things. After that the party officially started, first was dinner which consisted of Leon's favorite kind of pizza. In other words a vegetable and three meat pizza, of course they also had bread sticks and different kinds of sodas. Although the adults had to laugh as both Aki and Natsu tried to feed Leon.

"Say ahh Nya!~"

"No look over here Mya!" Poor Leon was stuck having to deal with both the wants of twins. Thus he slightly over ate much to his stomach's complaint. Really after dinner he was lying on the couch groaning a bit. The girls ended up being quite apologetic, but Leon only waved them off saying it was his fault for not saying stop. So in order to let his stomach recover they all had a half hour break playing board games.

Funnily enough everyone even Chang kept trying to cheat. But only because somehow, someway, Leon kept winning no matter what they did. It was enough to make them all pull their hair in frustration.

"Geez! How do you keep on winning like this son? We even teamed up against you during that round of Sorry!" In reply to his father's questioning Leon only smirked while winking.

"Apologies but that's a trade secret!~" With that they decided that trying to play any kind of game was a no go. Leon would just keep on winning, so seeing how everyone was still slightly full. They decided that presents were the next best thing. The twins were the first to insist that Leon open theirs. There were two of them but it said that the gifts came from both of them. Both were in boxes and wrapped with black and white paper.

The first one Leon opened surprised him a bit. "Hi Chews?" Then he realized what was really going on during the day. "I see now… you were all just trying to distract me while you got my gifts weren't you?" The twins nodded while Leon opened up his next gift. "This… this is actually really nice." It was the gift Aki picked out at the craft store, a leather bound notebook that had exchangeable papers. Leon also appreciated the chalk and charcoal, so in response to the gifts he hugged the Nekoshou tightly. "I love them thanks."

Leon then proceeded to kiss the cheeks of the girls, making them blush heavily as Mary once again took a photo.

"You lot really are just too cute sometimes." Leon could only roll his eyes at his mother's actions. The twins would've as well but were still blushing scarlet. The next present came from Dom and was wrapped up in red paper.

"I figured that you'd enjoy something a bit new, although I fear you'll become even more of a recluse than before." Leon raised an eyebrow at this but eventually opened up the present. Immediately he had to agree with his father, there were two books on basic offensive spells after all. One was about glyph spells, and another was on elemental spells.

He was beyond giddy. "Thanks Dad! This is great! I can't wait to try them out, look out world! Leon the black mage as been born!" At his words everyone but his father clapped their hands; instead he sighed and palmed his forehead.

"I've created a monster…" In response to his muttering Mary slapped him over the back of his head. With that Dom grumbled as Chang got out his present, though it was quite different than the others. First off it was long… about seven feet and five inches long; it was also in a carrying case that had a lock on it. The case was black but the edges were silver in color, it was also about six inches tall and seven inches wide.

But before handing it over Chang spoke seriously to the young boy. "Leon… you're starting to get older now, and you've come a long way in your training. But you still have a long way to go before you can call yourself my equal. So I give you this in the hope that you'll be responsible with it, and only use it in training until I say otherwise. Or… you have to use it, though I hope that never happens." With his speech done Chang got out a key and handed both the case and key to Leon.

Taking them both carefully Leon opened up the case with the key. Once it was opened Leon gasped a bit. Inside was a finely crafted dual sword. It was similar to the wooden one that he used for training. Except that the blades were a bit thinner, and had blue runes running up their silver sides. The guards also while similar, now resembled curved dragon fingers with the claws at the end. With trepidation Leon carefully picked it up with his left hand.

It was just a bit heavier than his training weapon, it was a small surprise but Chang quickly explained.

"The weapon was made of mythril, and then enchanted for toughness and magic conductivity. It is both weapon and foci, perfect for any magician trained for that weapon. Now I truly hope you'll be responsible with this, after all it is a true weapon." After putting it back into the case, Leon proceeded to close it before standing up and bowing.

"I swear that I won't misuse this weapon Shifu Wong." His promise only made Chang smile although Mary looked a bit worried, but had decided to trust Leon with it. After all he wasn't your average seven year old. Plus both hers and Gracia's gift was something she trusted Leon to be responsible with. So with a small breath she stood up along with her sister.

Clapping her hands she eventually spoke when everyone was looking at her. "Alright… it would seem as if Leon got some good gifts, but me and Gracia have come up with a dual gift. We talked it over… and we decided that Leon can go to the familiar sanctuary to get… well a familiar. Funnily enough today is a half-moon so we can actually go right now. We even got help from the watcher of the sanctuary, my old friend Nomic." At this Leon's eyes widened before he ran over to tackle his mother in a hug.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Mary only hugged her son back while chuckling; eventually they parted while Leon spoke excitedly. "I hope I get a baby dragon or something! That'll be cool!"

Quickly Mary chided him on that. "Leon… you can't just pick something because it'll be strong. You need to pick your familiar very carefully." At her rebuke Leon looked at her in confusion.

"But I don't want one because of their strength. I want one because they're cute, and they have awesome magic abilities I'd like to study. Plus we could learn magic together as we grow up." Again Mary was left baffled by her son's reasoning.

 _He never ceases to surprise me…_ Shaking her head Mary turned to Gracia.

"So is everything ready to go?" Her older sister grinned before taking out a card that had a strange magic circle on it.

"Of course!~ Who do you think you're talking to little sis!" Grinning Mary turned to everyone else in the room.

"So who's coming and who's staying?" Of course she expected everyone to raise their hands. "Alright just grab a piece of the card and we can be on our way." Following her instructions everyone grabbed hold of the card, after looking around and seeing that everyone was ready. Mary sent a pulse of magic into the card, with that they felt a small lurch as they disappeared into particles of light. It was actually bright enough to make everyone close their eyes, although Leon forced his to stay opened.

It was his first teleportation and he wanted to see how it worked. So while he was partially blinded by the time the teleport was over, Leon felt that it was a worthy sacrifice. He thought much differently as he tripped over something after letting go of the card.

As he laid faced down in the dirt he heard an old gravelly voice. "Are you alright there my lad?" Leon only raised his right thumb in response. "Hmm… are you sure he's ready for this Mary my dear?" As he got up to his knees he heard his mother speak with certainty.

"Now he may not seem like it, bet I'm certain he can handle the responsibility of having a familiar. So there's no reason to worry Nomic." Once on his feet Leon's vision returned and he looked towards the one called Nomic. To his immense surprise he saw it was actually a dragon his mother was talking to. He was large, and had four limbs though his back legs were much more muscled than his front arms. He also had two large bat like wings with orange membranes.

Nomic himself was actually mainly dark brown in color, though his under scales were a light tan. His large eyes were yellow and slited like a snake's, and he had two long "whiskers" coming from the top corners of his lips. And although Leon knew he was old, he also knew that the dragon was still quite powerful.

Still his inner seven year old emerged. "Awesome you're a dragon!" The old dragon could only chuckle at his response.

"Indeed I am… well at least the last time I checked. Now welcome to the familiar sanctuary youngin's I'm Nomic the sage dragon. I will be your delighted guide for your trip today, now before we begin a few rules. One don't go wandering off on your own, for despite most familiar's being tame unlike those in the familiar forest. There can still be ones which are hostile. Two do your best not to provoke any of the creatures of the forest. This means no loud noises or sneaking up on them. And third… just choose well."

Leon couldn't help but grin at that last one. "That's exactly what Mom said, but don't worry! I plan on choosing the most perfect one for myself." Nomic gave out a sharp toothy grin at this before turning back to Mary.

"So… is it just him who'll be gaining a familiar? Or will anyone else here be choosing one, because if so it won't be too much of a bother. After all you came rather early, plus the half moon is always the best time to choose familiar's in this woodland."

Mary quickly shook her head at Nomic's question. "Just my son for today, but we'll probably be back here when the twins turn seven. That way they can pick them out for themselves then." Nomic nodded his great head but noticed Aki's and Natsu's annoyed expressions. This made him chuckle before once again addressing everyone.

"Alright then we may now precede, just make sure to follow in behind me. Else you meet something you don't want to see." With that he turned around and started lumbering off into the beginning of the woodlands. As he did so he gave some history of the sanctuary. "Now for those of you who don't know, this sanctuary was founded by the first American magicians. Mostly because they didn't want to deal with the devils familiar forest, or their British counterparts getting in their way."

Taking a small breath he continued. "However they also wanted a place to put their own mythical creatures. So with my help over four hundred years ago, we created the sanctuary right here. Right under the very noses of the government, here in the forested areas of Washington. Truly it's a wonder what one can do with magic. Oh hello there Phil!" Looking over they saw a huge bear like creature, covered in brown fur wave at them before continuing on.

The first one to question Nomic about the creature was Dom. "Uh… was that who I think it was?" Nomic used his long neck to turn and nod at him.

"Yep that was Big foot or Phil as he likes to be called. He usually spends his time around here when he's not trolling his usual hunters." Suddenly things made a whole lot more sense for everyone. But decided that if Big foot, or Phil wanted to be left alone then that was just fine. So they kept on walking, and eventually made it to what Nomic called their first stop. It was a large lake with the forest on one side, and a plain of grass on the other side.

"Alright here we are! Now this is a usual spot for some of our water and near water inhabitants. Though some of the land lubbers as they like to call them, come here every now and then to drink." Looking around Leon saw a whole sort of different creatures. There were some large frogs and salamanders swimming in the lake. He even saw a beautiful undine who waved at them with her delicate hands. Of course Nomic had to speak up at that. "Fun fact everyone! Undines in the familiar forest are actually more like giant body builders. This is mostly because they have to fight over territory. Here well you can see for yourself."

At his words the undine huffed before yelling at him. "I say that they shouldn't even be called Undine! It's a disgrace to the rest of us, right girls?!" Around her other undine cried out in agreement, this of course only made the old dragon sigh before turning back to Leon.

"So… see anyone that you like?" After a bit of thinking Leon did a half nod.

"Well I kind of the like the giant ice salamander over there. But I want to check more places before making a final decision." Looking back at the ice blue salamander currently sleeping, Nomic nodded his head before leading them onwards. This time out into the open plains of the woodland to find some other creatures. As they walked Leon saw many fantastical creatures, including a gryphon, a Chinese unicorn, and some weird blob monster which was quickly destroyed by Nomic.

"Those things are such an infestation! I thought I killed all of them by now! Well at least they're as numerous as the ones in the familiar forest, eeuk!" When they questioned him why the slimes were so bad, his answer made Gracia and Mary quite angry. "Well… let's just say they melt clothing and stimulate… um… certain parts on the female body... Let's just move on…" With that said they did move on, but only now did they have two fuming women. Who wanted a certain species of slimes to become extinct.

Somewhere in the world a certain young man began crying for no reason. Eventually they made it to their next stop, this time it was filled with some other interesting creatures. There were wolves that lazed about waiting for the moon. Some large crows who watched them curiously, along with their less intelligent raven cousins. There were also some large snakes, a chimera who yawned loudly, and a cockatrice who was being quite shy around the strangers.

"So lad see anyone that you might like here?" This time Leon was rather tempted to go for one of the crows, or even a wolf or a snake. But in the end he instead made a note of the probable familiar's before turning back to the dragon.

"I see a few, but if you don't mind I'd like to keep going. I still haven't felt as if I've met the right one yet." Nomic nodded his head in understanding before moving the group along. This time he led them all back into the forest. While they were walking Leon kept looking back and forth, but for some reason nothing actually clicked with him. It was as if he felt something was just missing from all the creatures that he passed. Not that he didn't find them fascinating or amazing, they were just… not for him.

 _Come on… there has to be someone in here that I can bond with!_ That's when he bumped into the left back leg of Nomic. Holding onto his nose, he looked up at Nomic who seemed to be sniffing for something. After a bit Nomic shook his head before turning back to his entourage.

"It would seem as if we have a little company in the woodland today. I can smell some blood, along with fear in the air. There is also the hint of smoke and gun powder, as well as steel and rubber. This suggest poachers are nearby, unfortunately a terrible yet albeit rare problem. Please wait here as I go check it out." Nomic then took off before anyone could say anything to him. This caused Leon to sigh and move to sit down at the base of a tree.

Truthfully he was rather disappointed. "That was rude… he just left us here, personally I'd like to go and help." While Aki and Natsu nodded in agreement, the adults shook their heads before Mary spoke up sternly.

"Leon… we don't know who these people are. They could prove to be dangerous and very hostile, so it really is best to let Nomic deal with the issue." Leon was about to protest when Mary cut him off. "Look I know you want to help, but we should let the professional handle the issue." Though he didn't like it Leon knew that his mother was right and nodded his head. Unfortunately or fortunately in some ways, that was when a white blur flew into the area.

It was quick, but whatever it was didn't seem to be paying attention to where it was going. For it slammed into the tree Leon was sitting underneath. It made an indentation of itself in it before falling down right onto Leon's lap. For a few moments everyone just looked at the small white creature, just kind of in shock at what had happened.

The first to snap out of his shock was Leon, but only after he saw what the creature was. It was a small white dragon with smooth scales that glittered in the light. It had four fingers and was holding onto some kind of shiny orange orb, it also had four back toes with a small spike coming from its ankles. The dragon's wings were also swan like in structure, yet had regular orange leathery membranes.

On its head were a few white and orange tipped scales that jutted a bit behind the dragon's head. The dragon also had orange ovals that stretched from its eyes. Even the spines going down the dragon's back were orange. Finally it had a small black horn in the middle of its head, and had almost glowing orange eyes. Though they looked quite dazed from ramming into the tree.

Picking it up Leon shouted with glee. "I found the one!" The loud shout quickly shook the dragon out of its daze. Though as it looked at Leon it wasn't in fear, no it was genuine curiosity. In return Leon only gave the little dragon a warm smile, but before he could say anything to it a voice rang out.

"I know it went this way! That little wyrm will fetch me a nice price!" At hearing the words of whoever was coming, the dragon seemed to panic a bit. However after hardening his gaze Leon stroked its back calming the little critter down a bit. Turning towards the human holding it, the dragon seemed to understand what Leon was trying to do. So even after a dirty looking man came into the clearing it didn't run.

Upon seeing the people in the area the man paused to get a good look at all of them. Leon and the others did the same while waiting to see what would happen next. The man was ten inches taller than Dom so easily towered over all of them. He also had a large thick and messy beard with long brown hair. His clothing consisted of a large wool coat with muddy leather boots and tattered brown pants. His chest was bear and they could see his defined yet heavily scarred muscles.

His eyes were brown and there were scars all over his face, and his teeth were yellowed. All in all he looked almost like a cave man, and Aki and Natsu decided that it would be best to hide behind Leon. They could feel that the man had a magic core of his own, but unlike the family they've been staying with… it was dark and twisted. Unfortunately their movement caught the man's attention. But at the sight of both the white dragon and the twins… he smiled menacingly before talking with a low and deep voice.

"I see that you've come to the sanctuary to claim a familiar. However you see that I already called dibs on that white dragon. So if you could hand the hatchling back, it'd be much approving. Also while we're at it… I'd like to buy the two Nekoshou from you." This got both Aki and Natsu to stiffen while the baby dragon hissed at the man.

It also got Leon rather furious and he snapped at him. "Buy them from us?! Sorry but we don't own them! They belong to themselves, as for this dragon… sorry but I'm not going to let you sell her to who knows what!" At his words Aki and Natsu looked at him in awe, as the baby dragon also looked at him appreciatively. Though it also made Leon sigh in relief, but only because his guess on the dragons gender turned out to be right.

After all she wasn't trying to bite him for calling it a girl instead of a boy. Though as one might expect Leon's answer angered the man before them. So with a snap of his fingers the man seemed to summon a brown staff, though Leon had to frown at the lizard skeleton nailed on the front, and the mouse nailed onto the back. It also looked extremely old and rotted. But the worse part for the young boy was that it seemed to give out a feeling of death.

"You'll regret not making the deal with me boy!" His yell elected quick responses from the adults. The first to make a move was Dom who created a glowing glyph underneath the man. "What is-" He was cut off as he felt himself being launched into the air. However using his own glyph, the man was able to turn his feet against it and float there upside down. "Nice try but it'll take a lot more than that to defeat me."

He then thrusted out his staff while creating pure black orbs that floated around him. Underneath him everyone stiffened as he tapped his staff on the circle, sending the orbs into the ground. For a moment nothing happened, but slowly a dozen skeletons came crawling out of the earth. With them came a hiss and single word form Gracia.

"Necromancer…" Above them the man laughed before waving his hand, the skeletons charged at the group. However… it would seem as if their worries were quite unfounded, especially when Chang slammed a skull of one of the skeletons into the ground. This shattered its entire upper head and made the rest of it disintegrate. Seeing the ease of skeleton's defeat bolstered the others into attacking.

So with a few fire and lightning spells the undead were soon dead once again. The man however had lowered himself to the ground by then, his eyes wide in shock at what he had just seen.

"Impossible… how could you destroy-" Interesting enough he wasn't able to finish as Nomic landed right on top of him. This crushed the necromancer and made the all three kids a bit sick to their stomachs. It got even worse when the old dragon spit out a head he had bitten off. On his scales were dark red splotches of blood, and he had some strings of flesh hanging from his claws.

As he spoke it was with annoyance. "What is with these poachers lately?! All talk and no power to back up their boasts! Makes me wonder if Tiamat ever has to deal with things like this." Shaking his great head he turned to others, but paused when he saw the small white dragon. "Ah… a Truth seer dragon, looks about four years old. Female and has seemed to taken a liking to you. Do you wish for her to become your familiar?" At his question Leon looked at the small dragon who looked at him curiously.

He couldn't help but smile brightly before talking to her. "Personally I would love for you to become my familiar, but really I'll let you make the final choice." The hatchling seemed to be taken aback at his statement, but eventually nuzzled Leon's left cheek in affection. Much like a cat would to a loving owner. "I'll take that as a yes! Wonderful now how does this go?" After a bit of instruction from Mary and Gracia, soon Wiess as Leon had named the dragon was riding on his left shoulder.

In her hands was the white orb she had before. Thankfully Nomic was happy to give out some details. "Alright now… know that Truth seer dragons aren't about being big and powerful, though they do grow to a respectable size. They're more about sensing, identifying, understanding, and seeing then other dragons. The orb they carry is actually a very special crystal that with practice… can identify objects and people for what they are. Along with being able to translate languages both new and ancient. But most of all being able to tell if someone's lying or if someone has entered the area."

Leon thought about this before giving his own analogy. "So basically they're like fortune telling dragons?" Nomic closed his left before waving his right paw in a so, so like fashion but that was good enough for Leon. "Cool! Having you as a partner is going to definitely help Weiss!" At his praise Weiss rubbed his left cheek affectionately. Seeing this the girls swayed a bit at how cute she was. But after a few moments Mary spoke up with a smile.

"Well I guess besides the small adventure things turned out okay, but it's time to go back home now. Thanks again for helping us Nomic." The older dragon chuckled before giving his goodbye as Gracia got out the same card from before.

"Is everyone ready to get moving?" Everyone gave out affirmatives and said one last goodbye to Nomic, before grabbing the card like they did before. And just like before they were swept away in a bright light, and also like before Leon kept his eyes opened. This time though as he stumbled a bit he couldn't help but grin.

 _Oh yeah… it's all coming together…_ He then tripped over something and landed on something soft while hearing two squeals. Opening his eyes he saw that he was on top of both Aki and Natsu. Chuckling sheepishly he got up and while helping the twins.

"Sorry about that." Quickly they accepted his apology while Weiss jumped off his shoulder. Landing on a table the curious little dragon looked around, observing her new home. However when the small dragon saw some left over pizza, she gave out a small squeak before flying over to it. Taking a cautious bite suddenly a look of pure bliss appeared on her face. Soon she was eating it by the slice. Leon could only shake his head at that. "Well at least we have the same kind of taste in food."

His comment made everyone laugh before Mary spoke up again. "Alright!~ Now with that all done how about we eat some cake? I made it myself after all." With a cheer the kids ran to go get some plates and forks, while Mary giggled and went to get the cake. After getting it out of the fridge the kids saw that it had a square base with a another circular layer on top of it. "Alright now this is chocolate fudge, so please go a bit easy on it."

Though she said that it wasn't too long after that half the cake was eaten. Even Weiss joined in on the eating with pure bliss. The hatchling really was a connoisseur of food it would seem like. Of course it was after cake, which the twins got out the movies they borrowed and dragged Leon to the living room. The first to go in was the sword in the stone, which Leon commented about how the sword was actually Caliburn and Merlin wasn't quite so crazy.

The next movie was star wars episode four where they all fell asleep. With Aki leaning into Leon's right and Natsu leaning into his left. Even their new family member Weiss got in on it and fell asleep on his lap. At the scene Mary once again took a picture with a small giggle.

"It'll be such a shame when they grow older… I'll miss seeing them just lying there asleep together." Behind her Gracia nodded her head with a yawn. But with a sigh Mary turned to her sister seriously. "So now that the festivities are over… can you tell me the latest news from the underworld?"

With a frown Gracia nodded her head before speaking. "You know when you asked me to get you information on the devils I was a bit confused. But after what's recently happened… well I can only guess that you somehow predicted this. Currently my contact told me that they're in a bit of an uproar, thanks to one Nekoshou called Kuroka. Allegedly she went mad with Senjutsu and killed her king, now she's on the run and the devils are purging Yokai… well mostly the Neko's they've been recruiting for so long."

Mary couldn't help but frown before looking back over to Leon and the twins. "I thought something was going on when the twins told me different Nekos were disappearing. Truthfully those girls were making a smart decision when they decided to leave. You think they'll be safe here?"

Gracia shrugged hopelessly before answering. "I don't know… while America is hard ground for any supernatural race to lay claim to. Mostly because of the hunters running around along with the current mage association leaders. It is always possible for them to come here for Aki and Natsu. Well I say possible… but it's more like improbable. Still best to keep an eye on things and make sure your defenses are stay strong." Looking at Natsu and then to Aki Mary's gaze hardened.

"I won't let those two get hurt, they're my responsibility now and they've been a wonderful influence on Leon. So I say this… if those idiotic devils want them. They'll have to get through me first."

Feeling a hand on her shoulder Mary turned to see her husband smiling. "But first they'll have to go through me right dear?" Mary chuckled before giving him a peck on the lips.

"Indeed honey!~ I'm sure am lucky to have found a man like you." Dom could only chuckle at this while Gracia frowned heavily.

 _I wish I was married already…_

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

With a small sigh the man in black closed the book. "Alright the end of the chapter, hopefully we'll be able to read the next one soon. But you'll never know when we truly can." His fellow reader nodded his head before speaking soberly.

"Indeed, but one can always hope that it would be soon. Still a new familiar, along with something else creeping in the shadows. What do you make of this?" For a few moments the man in black was silent.

But when he did speak it was with a certain edge. "I think something is going to happen, something that will be the catalyst that will change this happy version of Leon… into the rather cynical version you originally read about. Still for now I do hope he enjoys his childhood for as long as he can." He then sighed before continuing. "I can see that the twin's will also have an interesting experience. What with the devils going crazy and all that… man do I remember when that happened. So many innocent lives…"

The man in white nodded his head in agreement. "Just goes to show, that even after so many thousands of years. They really haven't changed all that much. Why I remember the original devil… what a piece of work he was. Funnily enough… he actually hated and never cared about any of the devils around him. He just wanted to get back at god, and well… I guess in a way he did, even though he died in the doing it. The poor simple fool…" At his last statement both being's slumped forward a bit and sighed.

They stayed like that a while until the one in white stood up. "Well that's it for now. How about we go and have some lunch? Although you're cooking, after all I made us dinner last night." His companion stood up while huffing a bit. "What's wrong? Can't cook or something?" Shaking his head the man in black spoke bitterly.

"I can cook… but why are we always the ones cooking? I'm pretty sure our misses can cook just as well, but they're always making us cook. It's not as if any of us need jobs and magic is more than enough to clean well… just about anything. So why are we always the ones literally doing everything? Seriously they don't do anything!"

After that little rant the man in white sighed before patting the other's shoulder. "Just roll with it, after all we're supposed to keep them happy. Plus… you know as well as I do that they can't cook to save their lives. Now come on, let's get going." With that he left the room slowly followed by his grumbling companion.

* * *

 _ **Line Break**_

* * *

 **Magic Notes…**

 **Teleportation Card: A simple yet effective way of taking others to places they've never been to. Originally made by a British wizard it has been adapted for many other supernatural beings as well. A good example would be the devil flyers.**

 **Summon Skeletons: A magic more on the darker side, it uses any bones in the area to create undead skeletons. Strength and usefulness however depend solely on the caster. If he or she is weak, then the skeletons will be weak.**

 **Familiar Contract: Adapted and used by many races of people, this allows a person to create a bond to almost any creature or being. This usually creates both a mental and spiritual link between the two parties, allowing for more communication and even allowing them to share one another's sight.**

 **Jumper Glyph: A simple glyph designed to make anything on top of it be launched into the air. Though it can be also used mid-air, underwater, or any surface.**

 **Grounding Glyph: An adept level rune that allows one to "walk" on air, even if they're sideways, upside down, or straight up. Useful for those who don't have any way of flying.**

* * *

 **Judan: And another chapter done, though this one just show's where exactly we are in the timeline.**

 **Slayer: I think it was kind of interesting… but after seeing the Doctor Strange movie… my thoughts on what magic can do has been expanded.**

 **Judan: Yes I know… and I truly want to incorporate just a bit of that into this story eventually.**

 **Shadow: Yeah… after about two years you mean.**

 **Judan: Hey what can I say? I got to do what I have to do, and I need to expand my life and make it move forward.**

 **Nomic: Well that is true enough. Though perhaps we could've done a bit more.**

 **Shadow: Yeah… but these guys are kind of lazy.**

 **Slayer: Hey I have stories that I'd like to read myself! Plus I'm quite busy with my own stuff coming up… Still need to prepare that fifteen minute speech to. I can't do that much! I'm blunt and to the point, I can't jump around during something like that.**

 **Judan: Oh poor little Slayer, he can't do fifteen minutes worth of talking.**

 **Slayer: I will break you.**

 **Shadow: I can see where this is going… So Nomic care to end this today?**

 **Nomic: Sure, now then this has been a Dark Guard production signing off!**

 **Shadow/Nomic: Goodbye!**

 **Judan: You couldn't beat me even if you tried!**

 **Slayer: Then how come I've always beaten you?!**

 **Judan: I… I let you win so there!**

 **Shadow: Okay even I have to say that was a bad lie…**

 **Judan: Who asked you… you… you thing of evil!**

 **Shadow: Still not evil crazy man. Still not evil…**


End file.
